Tainted Love
by SkyyRyder
Summary: COMPLETED x When the American Literature professor decides to take a sabbatical after winter break, Spenser Academy calls on the newly certified Audrey Nolan to take his place. When she meets the infamous Sons of Ipswich ... Summary Cont'd Inside
1. Meet Audrey

**A/N: **I've had this idea for awhile, and yesterday while sitting around without inspiration on my other stories I started writing this one. I know, I've got some many going, but I just can't help myself.

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**Summary:** Entering a new school was a big deal, its an even bigger deal when you're not going as a student, but as a teacher. When American Literature professor, Professor Walden, decides to take a sabbatical after winter break, Spenser Academy calls on the newly certified Audrey Nolan to take his place. When she meets the infamous Sons of Ipswich, can she resist the charm of the resident bad boy?

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**Tainted Love**

Fumbling with the stack of papers in her hand, Audrey Nolan glanced at the paper on the top. A room number staring her dead in the face, R_oom D415._She took a few steps and looked around the hallway, bodies clad in uniforms shuffled about heading in all different directions. Frustrated, she grabbed the next person she saw in hopes that they could point her in the right direction.

"Excuse me; I'm looking for room D415..." She looked up to meet a pair of startling brown eyes.

The young boy looked at her and gave her a charming smile, "Next hall over, third door on the right..."

She gave him a small smile and nodded, "Thanks,"

Audrey weeded through the bodies and found the very room she was looking for. Slamming the stack of papers on the desk she stared around the empty classroom. It was fifteen minutes before classes were due; she took a few deep breaths before grabbing the chalk and writing her name on the chalk board behind her.

She was going to be taking over for Professor Walden's American Literature class for the rest of the school year. The man had decided to take a sabbatical half-way through the year. She had been offered the position because of her great recommendations and her past with this place.

She realized they must have added this wing recently; it hadn't been there when she attended five and a half years ago. Sighing she shifted through her papers. This would be her first teaching job since passing to get her teaching certificate. She had four classes today, and she hoped that they would go smoothly.

A bell ringing made her jump several feet in to the air. Grasping her chest she looked around and saw a few bodies come through the door. She gained her composure and pulled out Professors Walden's notes he left her. They were studying contemporary authors before the Christmas vacation.

She looked over the class role and took a seat in her chair. A few rowdy voices outside of her new classroom caught her attention. She raised an eyebrow and looked around.

"Fuck you Garwin, why don't you and your _boyfriend _get the fuck out of my face?"

Another voice interjected, "Dude, what is your problem?"

"You are my fuckin' problem..."

Audrey got up and headed to the door, there was not going to be a fight in front of her class, not on her first day. She stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at the crowd forming and sighed.

"Is there a problem boys?" She asked her tone sugarcoated.

The two boys that were squaring off, each with a friend backing them up, all about ready to jump on each other snapped their heads up in her direction. The looks on their faces said it all. She smirked and narrowed her eyes at them.

"Uh-- well..." The dark haired boy stuttered rubbing the back of his head, giving her a sheepish grin.

She rolled her eyes and glanced at the blonde who was staring her up. She glanced at the two younger boys that were backing up their friends and waited for someone to say something.

"Just some friendly hazing," The blonde cocked an eyebrow in her direction.

He blew off the brunette he was arguing with and walked towards her, the crowd of people looking at him as he got closer to her.

"You must be new here..." He tapped his fingers on his chin.

Audrey shifted her weight to her left foot, "And?"

"Well, you see... I'm the official Spenser Academy Welcoming Committee..." He grinned glancing over at his shoulder to the brunette that had been standing behind him. Audrey rolled her brown eyes and glanced down at the student ID that was hanging partially out of his pants pocket.

The last name caught her attention, _Garwin_, he was one of the 'Sons of Ipswich' as Professor Walden explained in his notes to her. She shifted again and moved to the side.

"I do believe you have this class first period, don't you Mr. Garwin?"

The blonde boy smirked at her and stopped right in front of her, "I like a woman who knows who she's dealing with..."

Audrey didn't offer him a reaction, she simply watched as he walked up to his seat, the brunette boy he was arguing with eyed her up before entering the class as well. The blonde's friend eyed the class before taking off in the opposite direction.

Satisfied, Audrey went back to her desk, more bodies shuffled in just as the last bell was ringing. She could feel all the eyes in the room on her as she headed over to the door to close it. Just as she was about to shut the door two more bodies slinked by her. Smirking she closed the door and turned to the class.

Twenty-eight pairs of eyes were on her, all expecting her to speak. She couldn't cower away now, this was it for her. This was the beginning of her new career.

"Good Morning," She cleared her throat. "As Professor Walden informed you before Christmas Break, he has taken a sabbatical, and I'm here to take his place..."

"Thank you God for answering my prayers,"

Her brown eyes tore up to see the blonde, hands clasped together, his eyes directed at the heavens. Half of the class laughed, the other half snickered. She shook her head and walked back to her desk.

"My name is Audrey Nolan,"

"So Audrey, how about me and you go out tonight, I'll show you a real Spenser welcoming..."

The blonde was a smart-ass; she definitely knew it was going to be a long day. She pursed her lips together, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can call me Miss Nolan... and trust me... Mr. Garwin, I don't need a welcoming from you..."

The class 'Ooh-ed' and the blonde simply lifted his shoulders in disinterest. She shook her head and glanced down at the seating chart. Her eyes scanned over the crowd trying to familiarize herself with students and names. She glanced at a familiar face and smiled up at him.

"Mr. Danvers, could you please tell me where Professor Walden left off?"

The brown eyes boy from earlier that morning looked alarmed at first, but soon settled back in to his seat and nodded his head, pulling out his notebook. He cleared his throat and glanced at the blonde before letting her know exactly what the last notes were that they took.

The notes were on one of her favorite authors, Stephen King.

She picked up her copy of The Shining and smiled holding it up, "This is actually one of my favorite books of all time…" She opened the front page and stared down at the words that had been accumulated by a very intelligent writer. "The Shining was one of the first books ever to focus on alcoholism… and addiction…" Lifting her gaze to her new class she gave them a warm smile, "I want to spend this class period to see what you guys have liked about the book so far, and to get to know you."

She heard the blonde mumble something under his breath causing the girls around him to giggle and the guys to snicker. She sat on the edge of her desk, crossing her legs at the ankles. She placed the book down and picked up her seating chart.

"Ok, tell me… Miss Snider, what did you think of the book?"

"To be honest," Audrey could tell as soon as the red head opened her mouth that she was one of those girls she detested in high school. "I didn't like it…" The class was full of murmurs and the blonde boy piped in.

"And that's surprising?"

The red head snapped her neck in his direction and shot him a glare, "I didn't like the fact that the main guy is an abusive, alcoholic father, who broke his son's arms when he was three… what the heck is that about?" She shook her head and continued. "I just… I found it frightening, and I could barely stand to read it…"

Audrey nodded her head and pushed off of her desk, "Perhaps King was trying to portray a different lifestyle to everyone…" She pursed her lips together. "Trying to pull away the fiction, and give it more of a reality…" She glanced at the chart in her hand. "Mr. Parry, what do you think?"

Her gaze settled on the long haired man that sat next to the dark haired, brown eyes boy that had helped her earlier that morning. Hazel eyes snapped at her and she smiled when he glanced down at his book.

"I enjoyed it," The dirty-blonde boy stated calmly, his eyes showing that he was still half asleep. Audrey was expecting that to be the end of his answer, but the hazel eyed boy surprised her. "I enjoyed the character development, the situations that came about…" He sat straighter in his seat. "I think that King was trying to portray a dysfunctional family, and he did so in a light that I've never seen before." He shrugged his shoulders, "The plot, the setting… all of it worked out to be this incredible masterpiece…"

Audrey smiled pleased by his answer. She gave him an appreciative nod and glanced back down at her role, "Miss Vance, what was your favorite part about the book?"

Class continued like this for Audrey, she would ask simple easy questions, just getting the opinions of her class. She wanted to get a feel for their personalities; she wanted to grab their points of view and what they liked.

The bell rang and the students began to shuffled, "I want to warn you, tomorrow's discussion won't be as easy…" She pointed out as they all got up to leave.

She sat down at her desk and looked through Professor Walden's notes, she was pleased with out class went. She couldn't have asked for a better day.

"Audrey,"

She glanced up, her brown eyes meeting a pair of very pale blue ones.

"That's Miss Nolan to you, Mr. Garwin…" She pointed out putting her notes down. "Can I help you with something?"

"Actually, I was thinking that I could help you…" He gave her a sly smile.

Audrey stared at him for a second and stood up, the blonde's eyes following her as she walked around the desk. She sat on her desk and glanced at him.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Garwin, but your savvy charm isn't going to work with me… nor are your dull pick up lines… I suggest you get to your next class before you're late…"

The blonde's lips pulled in to a scowl as he stared at her. Without so much as a word, Reid Garwin grabbed his bag and walked out of the room.

Audrey shook her head and sat back down; she wasn't expecting to be teaching kids that were only five to six years younger than her. She couldn't deny the immediate attraction she had to some of these young men.

Especially the blonde. Though his lines were lame, he still had a certain charm about him. Shaking her head she fought the thoughts that were plaguing her mind, she couldn't have those kind of thoughts about her students.

She didn't realize that those thoughts were just the beginning; it was going to be a long semester.

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**I always thought that if there was a smokin' hot young teacher that Reid would try to get with her. (Insert Tainted Love here... lol). So... what do you think?**


	2. Audrey Meets Elliot

**A/N: **You like it! That's fantastic! I kind of changed the genre of this, because I plan on adding some twist and turns in here (if my muses go where I want them too). I have added visuals of my OFC to my website (go to my profile and click on homepage -- and add me if you have a space! :))

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**Chapter 02**

Her first two classes had gone pretty well for her first day. She really couldn't complain. She had an hour off for lunch and couldn't wait to get out of the restraints of her classroom.

The reasons for becoming a teacher started to run through her mind. Ungrateful students, strict dress code, confined space, and minimal pay. It was such a bright future for her, she snickered to herself.

She loved kids, and always wanted to teach, Literature had been her passion growing up and she stuck with what she knew. She hadn't expected to get a job at Spenser, though it was temporary, it was a high honor to get in to such a great school so quickly.

And it would look excellent on her resume.

She grabbed her purse from her locked bottom drawer and headed out for a quiet lunch off campus. Walking down the halls she remembered her time spent talking with her girlfriends, and flirting with random boys in the same halls.

It brought back great memories, but also bad ones. She pushed the thoughts away and continued to the faculty parking lot. Taking out her keys she got in to her Toyota Camry and headed in to town to grab something to eat.

She decided to stop at the small diner she was familiar with when she attended Spenser. She regretted her choice as soon as she stepped in to the busy, noisy diner. More so when she felt a familiar gaze on her.

She looked around and spotted the blonde from her first period class, he was sitting with Mr. Danvers, Mr. Parry and the boy that was backing him up in the hallway. He gave her a smirk and she casted her gaze on the young girl that welcomed her.

Audrey was defeated when the girl sat her right next to the four young men who were accompanied by two beautiful girls. She gave them all a smile before scooting in to the booth. Now, all she had to do was ignore them for the next thirty to forty minutes.

"Care for some company?"

Audrey looked up and met the gaze of a handsome older man, probably nearing his thirties. She grinned and nodded her head slightly to him, he glided in to the booth and gave her a charming smile.

"You're the new American Lit teacher, correct?" He asked.

"That I am," She nodded as the waitress came over and took their drink order.

"I'm Professor Elliot DeRosa, I teach Calculus…" He grinned, sticking his hand out for her to shake.

Audrey accepted it and looked down at the counter, "Audrey Nolan…"

"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance…"

She fell in to a conversation with him, her gaze slowly drifted to the table behind him, she had felt him staring, but didn't bother to pay him any mind. At least until now.

He was ignoring his friends, those pale blue eyes boring in to the back of Elliot's head. She caught his gaze and shook her head, her lips pursed tightly. A smirk spread across his face and he bit his bottom lip, almost in a teasing manner.

Audrey looked away, not wanting to have the thoughts that were currently running a marathon in her head. She tried to focus on the conversation at hand, and the handsome young teacher in front of her.

"So, why Spenser?"

She snapped out of her daze when she realized he had asked her a question.

"Why not?" She lifted a shoulder.

He laughed and nodded, "True… I heard through the teacher grapevine that you used to attend?"

"I did…" She nodded her head, keeping his steady amber gaze.

"When did you graduate?" He questioned, starting the usual 'get to know you' conversation.

"2002…" She looked down at the table blushing slightly. She was still young, 'wet behind the ears' was Professor Walden's exact words.

"Still young," He grinned carefully.

She gave a low laugh, catching the blonde's attention gain.

* * *

Reid glanced at the table watching Mr. DeRosa charm the pants off of the new teacher. He felt his pale blue eyes becoming darker at the thought. He never liked Elliot DeRosa, and now, he didn't like him even more.

The man thought he was God's gift to women, and there was only room enough at Spenser Academy for one of those, and it happened to be him. Reid Garwin. He felt his best friend nudge him and the boy snapped out of his gaze.

"What?" He barked back.

"Would you stop staring at the new teacher?" Tyler grumbled under his breath adverting his gaze from the incredibly sexy new member of the Spenser Academy faculty.

"I can't…" Reid smirked, his eyes lifting to meet his best friends.

"Seriously Reid, she's like ten years older than you…" The blonde sitting next to him retorted rolling her blue eyes.

"Six, to be exact…" Reid countered with a swift grin.

"Sarah's right… besides she's a _mature _woman… what could she possibly get from you?" The dark haired girl sitting across from him lifted an eyebrow with her question.

"Other than an STD…" The long haired friend quipped with a wicked grin on his face.

"I am clean, thank you very fuckin' much…" Reid stated angrily.

"Whatever," Pogue laughed and popped a French fry in to his mouth; he glanced at Caleb who lifted a shoulder in disinterest. The dark haired boy took a bite out of his burger and turned to the blonde.

"Look, forget it Reid…" He shook his head. "Women like Miss Nolan are intelligent, and they probably prefer their _men_ that way as well…"

But Reid couldn't forget it. There was something about her that made her appealing to him. They weren't used to getting young female teachers like her around Spenser. Most of the broads around the school were old, prudish hags.

He let his gaze drift to her again and smiled seeing that she had casted her brown eyes his way. He gave her a genuine smile and she turned her gaze back to the Calculus professor. Reid rolled his eyes and snatched a handful of fries off of Tyler's plate.

"Just forget it," Caleb repeated shaking his head, the conversation turning back to the previous topic, college applications and acceptances.

* * *

Audrey smiled as Elliot took the bill, "I can pay for my own…" She stated reaching for the check.

"No, it's quite alright, I've got it…" He gave her a small grin.

The dark haired woman blushed and nodded her head, not arguing. She sipped her water; after the waitress came back Elliot walked her out to her car. The good looking teacher leaned towards her pulling out his cell phone.

Just as the words were leaving his mouth, a familiar, obnoxious voice interrupted his words.

"Miss N…" Audrey looked up to see Reid coming out, a hidden smirk on his handsome face, he held up a black book and grinned. "You dropped this,"

The blonde boy came over and handed her the day planner, Audrey took it from him, her fingers brushing over his. She glanced up; her eyes met his for a split second before the blonde turned to look at Elliot and grinned.

"Mr. D, how're the kids?" He asked his blue eyes showing the playfulness behind them.

Audrey tried her best not to react to the blonde's words, but the questioned plagued her brown eyes. She watched as Elliot narrowed his eyes at the blonde boy and pursed his lips, "They're fine Reid… thank you for asking…" His teeth were clench and Audrey found a bit of humor behind this.

Survival of the fittest, out wit, out smart, and out play all others.

"I'll see you in American Lit tomorrow Miss N…"

The blonde tossed her a grin and headed back inside. She turned back to Elliot and wondered if he was married, or divorced.

"I have two kids,"

"I didn't say anything," Audrey pursed her lips together, an eyebrow raised.

"You didn't have too…" He cleared his throat. "I was married, but recently divorced…"

Audrey nodded her head, "It's none of my business Professor…" She grinned opening her car door. "Maybe I'll see you around…" She grinned.

"I plan on it…" He grinned confidently at her.

Audrey slipped in to her car and Elliot closed the door for her. She pulled her Camry out of its spot and Elliot lifted a hand to her, a smile on his face as he watched her leave.

He wasn't the only one watching, Reid sat at his table watching as the snide professor got in to his large SUV and left for Spenser. He nudged Tyler and lifted his chin, "Lets get out'ta here…"

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**Also, a pic of Elliot DeRosa is also on my web page... so go check it out. (He's quite scrumptious actually). Now -- tell me what you think... because I want to know! **


	3. Won't Take No

**A/N: **I'm ellated with the response that this story has gotten, and I am falling in love with it. And my characters... I love sexy Josh Hartnett ... and on top of that... sexy Reid Garwin/Toby Hemingway. YUM FEST!

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**Chapter 03**

The rest of her day was seemingly flawless, which was very nice. She hadn't expected it at all, but she wasn't about to complain. She had been hit on by countless students, but none of them had sparked her interest quite like the blonde wonder.

She shouldn't even be thinking like that, but she couldn't help herself. His blue eyes plagued her, and that annoying smirk rattled her brain. She didn't like the feelings that were swirling around in her stomach.

Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, she gathered her things, getting ready to head out. A light knock on the door caught her attention. She glanced at the door, and smirked seeing a mop of blonde hair on the other side.

She walked over; gripping the handle in her small hand she pushed the door open slightly, glancing at the blue eyed young man.

"Can I help you with something, Mr. Garwin?"

A genuine smile spread across his handsome features, "Actually—"

He was cut off when another voice interrupted them, "Audrey," Reid's attention snapped to the man who had sat at the same table as the beautiful new teacher at the diner. "I was hoping to catch you before you left,"

Audrey smiled at Elliot and glanced at Reid, "Was there something that you needed right away Mr. Garwin?"

The blonde glared at the dark haired male teacher; shoving his gloved hands in to his pockets he gave Audrey a small smirk, "No… it can wait… I'll catch you later Miss Nolan… Mr. D…"

Audrey watched him walk away, whistling lowly to some unknown tune. Shaking her head she looked back at Elliot a small smile on her face.

"Professor DeRosa, how can I help you?" She asked him with a small smile.

Dark brown eyes stared at her, a small grin playing on his handsome face, "Well, I was hoping that maybe you'd like to go out for a bite to eat…" He licked his lips.

Audrey put a hand to her chest, "That's very kind of you Professor, but I don't think…"

"I won't take _no_ for an answer, Miss Nolan…" He placed his hands in his pockets.

Nodding her head, "I won't be able to do it tonight, perhaps tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow would be great, seven o'clock?"

"That'd be just fine," She nodded her head and walked back in to her classroom.

She couldn't fight the attraction she had to the dark haired man. He was charming, and he was confident, all things she found appealing in the opposite sex. Though, the fact that he had two children and was divorced was a bit of a downer, she hoped she could see past that.

Grabbing her things she slipped her purse over her shoulder and headed towards the faculty parking lot. She was stopped in the hallway by a familiar face.

"Miss Nolan," The man smiled at her.

"Provost Higgins," She grinned holding her stack of papers to her chest.

"How was your first day?"

"It went exceptionally well," She nodded her head.

"I love to hear that, any students stand out to you in particular?" He asked her carefully.

_Reid Garwin_, was her first thought but she fought the urge to say his name. That wasn't professional. She simply shook her head.

"Not yet, they all seem bright and eager to learn, which is fantastic…"

Provost Higgins nodded his head and they said their goodbyes. Audrey flushed from her thoughts of the blonde haired boy, she couldn't be thinking of her students in that way. She willed the thoughts away and climbed in to her car.

She flipped the radio on to the local rock station and rested her head back. She was deep in to her thoughts that she hadn't noticed a dark SUV following her the entire way home. Parking her car she grabbed her things and headed up the stairs to her new apartment.

She fiddled with the key to get the apartment door to open and was finally successful. Stepping in to the cool home she let out a heavy sigh of relief. It had been a long day, but eventful.

She changed in to a pair of old Spenser sweat pants and a matching navy blue Spenser soccer t-shirt. She had played four years of Varsity Soccer when she attended, and had been the captain her Junior and Senior year. One of her shining moments in life.

Sighing she slipped on to her suede couch and pulled out her black planner, she had to pencil in her date with Elliot tomorrow night. Or dinner, she wasn't really sure if it was a date or not. Whatever it was she had to put it in so she wouldn't double book herself, not that she had anyone else to make plans with.

She opened it up to the week and scanned over her penciled writing. She always wrote her appointments in pencil, or her outings, just incase things changed she could erase them. She took the pencil out of its holder and searched for January 8th, which would be tomorrow.

She wrote Elliot's name down, dinner and seven o'clock. She smiled, her brown eyes searched the rest of the week when it fell on foreign handwriting. Her lips pursed together when she noticed what the writing said.

On Saturday, January 12th, a name, a word and a time. Her brows furrowed wondering how that had gotten there. Lips still pursed she closed her eyes. At the diner. He must have put that in there before he handed it back to her.

_Reid, Coffee, 10AM_

Eyes still closed she could picture his face. Simple perfection. Pale blue eyes that bore in to anyone who dared look in to them, blonde hair that swept low in to his brows, a pointed adorable nose, and perfectly white straight teeth surrounded by pink subtle lips.

She knew it was wrong; she didn't want to think that she could actually be attracted to one of her students. A student that she was supposed to teach; someone that was six years younger than her, possibly seven years. It made her feel terrible, like a pedophile.

She defended herself; he was a man… a young man… but a man all the same. Kids these days grew up quickly, and where sometimes more aware of their surroundings than most adults.

She could think about him, it wasn't a crime. She shrugged her shoulders and pulled out her copy of The Shining. She decided to the best way to stop thinking about the blonde boy was to indulged herself in what she was going to teach.

* * *

Reid stared up at the ceiling, he didn't know why, but his thoughts were plagued with the thoughts of the new teacher. Audrey Nolan. She was almost a picture of perfection. There was something about those smoldering brown eyes that pulled him in.

He could tell that she thought he was attractive, though there weren't many people who attended Spenser that _weren't _good looking. Reid sometimes thought it was a requirement before getting in. Not that he was complaining.

Closing his eyes he smirked, knowing that he might have ruined Professor DeRosa's chance by dropping the bomb about his kids. That asshole deserved it, Reid was going to lay on some of his charm this afternoon after class, and that dickhead decided to grace them with his presence.

If there was one thing that both Professor DeRosa and Miss Nolan were going to learn from him, it was that he got what he wanted. He always did.

* * *

Reid woke up late, so he didn't get to class early to sweet talk his new teacher. He sighed to himself, all in due time. He would get her. He knew he would, it might take some time… but he was willing to wait.

There was one thing that people didn't understand about him. He wasn't as impatient or impulsive as they all thought. He also wasn't the huge manwhore that everyone depicted him as. Sure, he had slept with his fair share of girls, but so had Tyler, so had Pogue and so had Caleb.

They were the Sons of Ipswich, it was in their blood to be rich, powerful, good looking, and surrounded by hot chicks.

Misconceptions, he was misunderstood.

He liked having girlfriends, he could stick with one girl and contrary to popular belief, he had never cheated on a girlfriend before. He shrugged his shoulders, he didn't care what people said about him, so he didn't deny the rumors, nor did he encourage them.

He would admit he was a ladies man, he liked to be surrounded by good looking girls, but that didn't mean he slept or fooled around with them all. He liked to have girls ogle him; he liked the confidence booster.

* * *

The second bell rang about a minute ago and he strolled towards class, he noticed Miss Nolan heading for the door and he stopped her from shutting it. Those damn brown eyes stared at him; almost tempting him to lean in and kiss that perfectly pouted mouth.

"You're late, Mr. Garwin…" She tilted her head to the side, she almost look disappointed.

"My apologies, Audrey, I slept in…" He grinned at her.

"Miss Nolan," She corrected him. The blonde narrowed his eyes on her and he lifted a shoulder. "Take your seat,"

He gave her a sexy little grin and jogged up the steps to his seat. She watched him carefully; she couldn't stop her eyes from falling on his backside as he took the stairs two at a time. Shaking her head she walked back to her desk.

"Well, Mr. Garwin… since you _were_ graciously late to class… I'll point my first question to you…" She clasped her hands behind her back.

Reid smirked and his brows rose, "Why, Miss Nolan… I'd love to go out with you…"

Audrey tried to fight the flush that creeped on her cheeks and kept her cool, "Very funny, Mr. Garwin…" She narrowed her eyes at him. "But in all seriousness," She paused and racked her brain for a suitable question for the blonde boy. "Do you believe Jack's eventual decent in to mental illness is the result of…"

Reid listened, her words droned on in to a very well put together question. He was ready to respond, but he'd keep his cool, toy with the brunette woman just a bit before answering. He had actually read The Shining before it was assigned. Steve King was one of his favorite authors.

"… or a result of his own personality characteristics?" Audrey's brown eyes met his blue ones and he smirked at her.

He sat back in his chair, laced his slender fingers behind his head, getting comfortable in the stiff wood chair. She watched him carefully, anticipating an answer, and was becoming slightly disappointed as the second ticked by.

Her jaw clenched and she stepped forward, "Mr. Garwin, I expect an answer…"

Reid waited a few beats before he opened his mouth.

"In the real world… I'd say it was his own personality characteristics…" He stopped and Audrey opened her mouth but Reid continued, "But in King's world I believe that it was a bit of both, the hotel's _evil _power and his personality…"

Audrey was pleasantly surprised, "And why do you believe that, Mr. Garwin?"

Reid seemed to surprise the entire class as he gave an educated, thought-out answer. Including specific details from the text. Audrey gave him a warm smiling, nodding her head approvingly.

"Very perceptive Mr. Garwin," She walked to the front row of the class, placing her hands on the desk, her eyes looking up at him. "I'm impressed…"

He gave her a lazy grin, "I tend to surprise people…"

Audrey stood erect and the blonde teenager slid deeper in to his seat, his gaze tore away from her for a brief minute. It drifted to his friends, Caleb Danvers and Pogue Parry, who were staring at him with their mouths hanging open.

The corner of Reid's mouth lifted, his gaze settling back on his teacher. She let her eyes linger on him a second too long, and he licked his lips watching her watch him.

Audrey snapped her attention to her role book and glanced around for her next victim. She moved to the next side of the room and eyed a young blonde girl.

"Miss Wenham," The blonde looked up to meet her gaze. "In what ways does King express a sense of solitude and loneliness throughout the novel?"

Reid didn't pay much attention to the words floating around class, he watched as Audrey paced the floor. She wore a pair of black tailored capri pants and black pumps on her small feet. She would get her answer, or challenge an answer, walking from one end of the room to the other.

She had amazing calves, he picked up on that. She must have played sports, either in high school or college. The toned muscles flexed and tightened every time she moved. Her red blouse clung to her flat stomach, and ample curves.

Reid found himself leaning forward, more alert in American Literature than he had ever been before.

When the bell finally rang, every student in the room got up and started for the door, all except for Reid. He took his time getting up out of his seat as slowly as possible, hoping to catch Audrey's attention.

The dark haired teacher glanced up to meet his eye; she wagged her finger at him, the blonde smiled. He descended the stairs and swaggered over to her desk. He took a seat on the corner of the desk, watching her fiddle with the pen in her hand.

"Mr. Garwin…"

"Reid," He corrected her. A small grin on his face, "My father is Mr. Garwin…"

Audrey glanced up and met his eye, "_Reid_…" He smiled hearing his first name drip from her lips. "I came upon something interesting in my day planner last night…"

"Ah, so you found it…" He folded his hands in his lap.

"I did," She nodded her head and looked up at him. "But Reid, I'm sorry… but that isn't going to be possible,"

Reid's face fell and he stared at her, "Why not?"

"Reid, you're my student…"

"It's just coffee…"

"Do you realize how much trouble I could get in for being seen with you off of campus, even if it were just a friendly cup of coffee…"

He gave her a sly smile, "So you're not going to deny the fact that you want to go get a cup of coffee with me then?"

Audrey looked surprised at his words, "Reid, the fact of the matter is that I cannot and will not be going to get coffee with you on Saturday, is that clear?"

"Beating around the bush," He stood up and grinned down at her. "We can meet outside of Ipswich; go grab a cup of coffee at Starbucks in Boston…"

She was about to object when he leaned down close to her, "I wont' take 'no' for an answer…"

She stared at him, she had been hearing that a lot lately, and she wasn't sure if she liked it. She looked away from him and shook her head. If anyone found out about this it could get very, very bad.

"One cup of coffee, in Boston… no funny business…" She pointed a finger up at him.

"If I misbehave… I give you permission to spank me…"

With that he walked out of her classroom.

Audrey sank deeper in her seat. What had she gotten herself in to?

* * *

**I'll spank Reid, who's with me? LOL... hope you enjoyed. If you did, just drop me a little review and let me know. If you didn't enjoy... well I don't know what's wrong with you (kidding... of course!)... R E V I E W...**


	4. Don't Give Up

**A/N: **I feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside... I love you guys! And becuase I love you, there is a small teaser/spoiler of a future chapter on my blog, so go check it out. You can comment there or comment here around it... doesn't matter...

* * *

**Chapter 04**

Her last class had just flooded out of the doors, and she couldn't be happier. Today was a bit tougher on her, but Audrey had thick skin. She could take kids slacking off and mouthing off to her. She wasn't a stranger to bad behavior.

She heard a knock on her door and glanced up to see Elliot standing outside of her door. She smiled and waved him in. The handsome, dark haired man walked in to the room a small grin on his face as he sauntered over to her.

"Are we still on for seven o'clock?" He asked her with a charming grin on his face.

She stood up and leaned against her desk, "Yeah," She nodded with a small smile. "Let me give you my address," She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled her address on it.

Elliot took the outstretched piece of paper and smiled, "Nice area…"

She nodded, "I like to think so…"

He walked closer to her and brushed a piece of her dark brown hair out of her face, "You're a beautiful woman, Audrey…" His voice was low.

"Thank you," She looked down blushing.

"I'll see you at seven," He held up the piece of paper, placing a kiss on her cheek.

Audrey flushed and nodded her head. She watched him walk out of the door, only to brush in to a familiar blonde. Audrey's eyes grew wide seeing him walk towards her, his uniform in complete disarray.

Reid glared at Elliot; he strode towards her a smirk apparent on his features. His jacket was non existent, his tie was loosened, the top three or four buttons were undone showing off his pale chest, the sleeves of his uniform shirt were rolled up past his elbows, his forearms freckled with tattoos.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" She asked him quickly.

He glanced at the door, "What was Mr. D in here for?"

She shrugged her shoulders, not about to let her student in on her personal life. She didn't see a change in his features, except for his eyes; they seemed to darken a bit with her lack of answer. He pursed his lips together and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You should be careful with him…" Reid rubbed his lips together.

It was true; he wasn't just saying it because he was feeling a bit jealous. No, he had heard stories about Mr. DeRosa. He heard rumors about the reasons why his wife left him, and how he couldn't seem to hold a steady relationship.

At Spenser Academy, nothing was a secret.

Audrey pulled herself together and started getting her things together. She shook her head, "I'm capable of taking care of myself, _Reid_…" She let him know. "Now, was there something you wanted?"

Reid gave her a small, playful grin, "You could say that…"

"Really?" She quirked an eyebrow up at him, not catching on to his words.

"Yeah," He nodded his head. He came around to the front of her desk, his hands falling flat on top of the papers she was reaching for. Her brown eyes snapped up to meet those pale blue ones. "She's about five foot six, dark hair, gorgeous eyes, and has an amazing body… she's intelligent… and happens to be standing right in front of me…"

Audrey stared at him, not moving. The blonde was coming on to her, right there in her own classroom. The very one that he had been sitting in only hours ago, learning… from her. She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head.

"Reid, I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen…"

"And why not?" He asked cocking his head to the side.

"Reid, I am your _teacher_… teachers and students should not be… _involved_… in anyway…"

"No one has to know," He bit his bottom lip, giving her a sexy once over.

She stood straight up her eyes locked on his, "You seem like a really nice young man, Reid… but…" She paused and felt her stomach rumble as he leaned in closer to her.

_Young man_, Reid pondered. She had referred to him as a young man, rather than a child or a kid. In his book, that meant something… as if she was trying to convince herself that it was ok to be attracted to him.

"But what?" He asked his lips turned up in to a smile.

"It just can't happen, do you understand?"

He removed his hands from her desk, walking towards the door, "You'll be singing a different tune on Saturday…"

She watched him leave and felt a huge weight press down on her shoulders. This wasn't good. Coffee with a student on the weekend was not going to be anything but trouble. She would have to get out of it somehow.

Sighing she looked around the room, her eyes stopping on the clock. She had time to go home, take a run, shower and get ready for her dinner with the calculus teacher. She grabbed the rest of her things and headed to her car.

The dark haired woman got home in record time, changing in to a pair of grey sweat pants with her Alma Mater logo down one leg. She slipped on a t-shirt and a sweatshirt before lacing up her favorite pair of Adidas and heading out to the park across from her building.

Her run was refreshing, though, she couldn't fight the thoughts of the blonde student. He plagued her, she found herself more attracted to him than she was even to a man that was closer to her age.

When she arrived back at her apartment she glanced around feeling as if she was being watched. She shrugged off the feeling and walked inside, heading straight for the shower.

It took her about twenty minutes to shower, wash her hair, and shave. It was times like these that she hated being a woman. She seriously wished that she could be a man for a day, how easy they really had it. Jump in the shower, rub soap all over your body and hop out.

She moseyed around her apartment clad in nothing but the towel; she waited for her hair to dry a little bit before taking the damaging blow dryer to it, or adding any product.

Time seemed to literally fly past her; she hadn't even slipped in to her outfit for the night when she noticed that it was almost exactly seven o'clock. She walked back to her room; she sifted through her closet and found an adorable black dress.

She slipped in to it just as the knocking started on the front door. She slipped on a pair of sexy black stiletto heeled shoes and trotted towards the door. She took a deep breath and answered the door.

He stood on the other side of the door looking absolutely handsome. There was no doubt in her mind that Elliot DeRosa was a good looking man, especially seeing him dressed down in a pair of grey slacks, a white button up shirt and a thick black coat that stopped right below his butt.

She stepped aside and let him in, "Nice place," He grinned.

"Thanks, I'm still getting things unpacked… but most of its done…" She laughed. "Let me grab my coat and I'll be right out…" She pointed to the back of the apartment.

He nodded his head and took in her living room and dining room, which were the first two rooms you walked in to. She had a classic yet, modern feel to her apartment. He smiled seeing her return with an emerald green long coat that stopped just above her skirts hemline.

"Shall we…" He asked holding out his arm for her.

"We shall," She nodded her head with a grin.

Grabbing her purse before she left, she locked up her apartment following him out to the dark SUV. She gave him a small smile as he opened the door for her and shut it as she scooted in.

The drive to the restaurant was full of incoherent 'get to know you' talking. She didn't think much of it really. Their talking halted when they arrived at the restaurant, she smiled, and it was familiar. One of the lasting places around Ipswich.

"I hope this is ok," he cleared his throat. "There aren't too many places in town you can take a woman for a nice meal…" He laughed.

"This is perfect," she grinned as they got out of the car and headed inside.

Dinner had gone well, Elliot could hold an intelligent conversation, though he was lacking a bit in the humor department. She had shrugged it off; until she noticed on top of that he had a roaming eye.

"Elliot," She looked at him, his eyes were glued on the girl that just walked by in a short mini skirt.

He snapped his head up and gave her a charming smile, "You were saying?" He asked, brushing off the look that she gave him.

Audrey sighed, "I was just saying that it's getting late, maybe we should get going…"

Elliot glanced down at his watch and nodded his head, "You're right, we do have school in the morning…"

Audrey simply nodded and Elliot picked up the bill. He helped Audrey in to her coat and settled in to his as well. As they were walking out to the car making light conversation, snow began to sprinkle from the heavens.

Looking up Audrey smiled, "A perfect ending to the perfect date?" Elliot concluded with a grin letting her in to the SUV.

She looked up at him and smiled, "You could put it that way," She laughed.

He leaned down, not hesitating at all. His soft lips brushed hers and Audrey found herself wanting to kiss him. Hoping that it would wash her mind of the devilish blonde boy that had been running a marathon in her head; but it didn't.

The kiss was nice, but there was nothing else behind it.

She smiled at him and climbed in to the truck and watched him carefully stroll around to the other side. The conversation back to her house was light, and fun. Elliot offered to walk her up to her door, she was going to decline, but he insisted.

Very persistent, she realized.

He walked her up to her door; the sound of a motorcycle revving its engine caught her attention. She glanced down and saw a yellow Ducati park next to her, the driver visibly shaking. They hadn't been expecting snow, but it was Massachusetts after all.

"I had a really great time tonight," Elliot leaned down to leave another chaste kiss on her lips.

"Me too,"

So it was a partial lie, she looked up at him. She wanted to be completely enthralled by him, but she was finding things she didn't like about him left and right. She hated when she did this.

"Well goodnight," He gave her another kiss, this time a little rougher than the first.

Audrey willed herself to enjoy it, but she still felt nothing. He wasn't a bad kisser, she realized. He was skilled, and probably made most girls swoon, but she couldn't find herself doing so. She pulled away and smiled.

"G'night, Elliot…"

The dark haired man jogged down the stairs brushing past the driver of the yellow Ducati. Snowflakes caught in a familiar mop of dirty blonde long hair. She wondered what the hell he was doing here.

Elliot noticed him as well and glanced up at Audrey.

"Pogue, what are you doing here?" Elliot questioned as they passed each other.

Pogue looked up and looked in to the face of his calculus teacher, the long haired teen held up his keys, "I live here," His voice was deep as he looked around. "What are you doing here?"

Elliot casted a glance to the top of the steps, Pogue followed his gaze and found a beautiful brunette woman wearing an emerald green trench coat, looking as if she were about to freeze to death.

"Date?" Pogue asked.

Elliot smirked and headed back to his car.

Pogue watched him for a minute and rolled his eyes. He never did like Elliot DeRosa; there was something about him that gave off a very bad vibe. He shook the flakes out of his hair and headed up the stairs.

"Mr. Parry, what are you doing here?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Pogue smiled at her and nodded his head to the apartment across the hall, "I live here," He laughed fiddling with his keys.

"Oh," She visibly blushed. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," She headed in to her apartment.

Pogue nodded his head and entered his apartment. Well, that was definitely a new development. Not only did the new, hot American Lit teacher leave across the hall from him, but she had just gotten back from a date with his calculus teacher.

He smirked rubbing his hands together, he was going to have so much fun torturing Reid with his new information, and he couldn't wait for school tomorrow.

She was running late, she searched her apartment for the black shoes that she was planning on wearing but she couldn't find them. She had already gone outside earlier that morning to scrape the snow and ice off of her windshield and to get the car warmed up.

But now, now she couldn't find a simple pair of shoes.

"You've got to be kidding me…" She murmured when she found them wedged between her couches.

She slipped them on to her feet, grabbed her school bag and her purse and headed to the door with her keys in hand. She fumbled to lock the door and started hightailing it to her car.

"Miss N! Wait up…" She heard someone call out to her.

She turned around and saw a uniform clad, Pogue Parry coming towards her. She narrowed her eyes through the hazy snow and he appeared within a few inches of hers.

"Can I help you with something Mr. Parry?" She asked him.

"It's Pogue, actually…" He breathed. She smiled waiting for him to continue. "I was wondering if… you could maybe give me a lift to school?" He questioned motioning to the bike that was covered in snow.

Just a tad apprehensive at first she stared at him, this couldn't be good. Could it?

She swallowed and shook her head, "Sure, hop in…"

Pogue shot her a grin and pulled open the passenger door, he slid in next to her and was thankful that she was smart enough to come down and warm up the car first. He turned to look at her and she was pulling out of the parking spot.

"So Miss N… I hear you're from Ipswich originally?" He asked settling his book bag between his legs.

She smiled and nosed her car out on to the main road, "Yep, born and raised…" She nodded her head.

"Me too, how come I've never heard of your family before?"

Focusing her attention on him for a second she looked back at the road, "My real father died when I was four," She cleared her throat. "My mother remarried, but didn't change my name… Geneva and Felix Stone?" She glanced at him.

"Oh," Pogue's eyes grew wide. "You're related to Felix Stone?"

"Yep," She nodded her head. "But, I try to deny it any time possible…"

Pogue nodded his head understandingly, she glanced over at him, "I believe your father was the prosecuting attorney for that case, wasn't he?"

Pogue licked his lips and nodded his head; he heard stories about it from time to time and never really thought about it until now, "I'm sorry…"

She laughed, shaking her head, "Don't be…"

Pogue lightened up and they talked lightheartedly about school, his girlfriend Kate, and the swim team. Audrey even referred to them by their infamous name; the Sons of Ipswich.

"God, I hate being called that…" Pogue looked up at the ceiling of the car.

"Oh c'mon, I think people even called your parents that…" She laughed. "And people will someday refer to your kids with the same name…"

Pogue shook his head and climbed out of the car, she was parked in the faculty parking lot. He smiled the access was closer and less snow to track through. He noticed her bag and offered to take it.

Audrey denied him at first, but he grabbed it anyway. She shook her head; guys in Ipswich just did not give up, did they?

* * *

**I was going to add more information in this one, but I decided to hold off on it. At least for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter... and I couldn't help but make Pogue her neighbor. I just wanted them all to be connected somehow. One Son of Ipswich at a time!**


	5. Just Friends

**A/N: **The Reid Muse is back, are you excited? I hope so... lol. Nothing too spectacular about this chapter; but it does revolve around Reid, which makes it spectacular. Ok, so I'm not making sense, but I blame that on lack of caffeine!

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**Chapter 05**

Saturday came quickly for her, not that she minded. She had been secretly anticipating her coffee with the blonde Son of Ipswich. She didn't know what to expect, and she didn't have any expectations.

It was just coffee.

Or at least that's what she continued to tell herself on her trip in to Boston. She was fitting an inner battle with herself. Part of her knew that this was wrong, very-very-very wrong, but the other half didn't care. The other half wanted to do things without thought, which was very hard for her to do.

The blonde had cooled off with his smart-aleck comments, and was participating in class, which she found to be endearing. She had found they had one thing in common, they both loved Steven King.

She sighed glancing over in her passenger's seat. She had given her neighbor, her student, Pogue Parry a ride to school for the rest of the week. He was going to get his friends to help him get his bike to his parent's house and swap it out for one of the cars.

_Must be nice_, she thought with a small smile.

Pulling up to the Starbucks she glanced around and didn't see the familiar blonde. Unhooking her seatbelt she climbed out of her Toyota and hugged herself in the biting January air. She treaded through the melting snow in to the coffee shop.

Heading to the counter, she heard someone say her name. Turning around she saw the blonde coming through the front door, shaking his head as pieces of ice and snow fell to the ground, melting instantly.

"Hey," She gave him a warm smile.

The blonde quirked a grin at her, "Hey yourself,"

She was amazed at how natural this seemed, it didn't feel forced, it didn't feel awkward in the slightest. He came over to her, and stood close; the warmth from his body was washing over her as they stood in line.

Was it his warmth? She thought to herself, or was she just trying to find a reason to stand closer to him?

"So, what can I get you?" He asked her carefully.

Audrey met his gaze, and she took a step forward, casually trying to pull her body away from his, "I've got it… don't worry…" She brushed off his offer.

Reid smirked and shook his head, "Why won't you let me pay for your coffee?" He asked.

Audrey ordered her drink and glanced back at him, "Honestly?" She asked him. Reid hung his head slightly and nodded, "It'll make me feel better knowing that I paid… make it feel less like a _date _or something…"

Reid's eyes lit up as he looked at her carefully, "Whatever'll help you sleep at night," He grinned ordering his drink and paying for his.

Audrey's cheeks began to turn crimson; she cursed herself for being so honest with him. She probably shouldn't have said that, but she couldn't take it back now, could she?

Reid bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at her expense. They both grabbed their coffees and walked to the back of the store where a couch was accompanied by a few chairs in a cozy looking setting.

Reid held his hand out to the chair, and Audrey nodded her head. She took a seat, and Reid fell next to her lazily. She sat there sipping her coffee, glancing at the handsome young man next to her.

_This was wrong_, she reminded herself.

"So, Audrey…" He sighed and rested an arm behind her on the couch, in a casual manner.

"Reid," She took another sip of her coffee. If she kept blushing like this she was going to look like a damned tomato.

"It seems like you and I have a lot in common…" He pursed those perfectly pink lips together.

She tried not to notice, but it was terribly difficult to do so. The dark haired woman situated herself, pulling her right leg under her and turning to face him. It was polite to face the person you were talking to, after all.

"I wouldn't say a common love for Steven King is a lot…" She mocked him with a silly grin.

_Wow_, she had just teased him. She scolded herself. She couldn't be flirting with him. He was barely eighteen years old. He was barely old enough for her to be talking to. Barely legal.

Reid laughed, it was infectious. It was smooth, and that pale skin pulled tightly of his cheeks and his eyes squinted just the slightest. She shook her thoughts; she hadn't even inspected Elliot this way when they went out that week.

"Touché…" He smirked.

She watched as he took a sip of his pumpkin spiced tea, not the sort of drink she figured he would drink. She figured him for a black coffee drinker, but you couldn't judge a book by its cover.

She of all people should know that.

"I hear you're on the swim team," She decided to make it a littler easier on herself by taking control of the conversation.

"One of Spenser's best…" He grinned proudly. "Backstroke is my swim…"

She hadn't figured him as a backstroke swimmer, the way he was forward, and went after what he wanted… he seemed like he'd be a breaststroke swimmer. Warding off her inappropriate thoughts she shrugged her shoulders.

"I was never big in to swimming in school," She informed him. "Not that I didn't mind going to the meets…" She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

"Really?" He asked a pale eyebrow shooting up in interest.

She sighed and nodded, "I was a young hormonal teenager. A guy in a tiny swimsuit was my favorite subject…" She laughed at the memory.

"Well, if they're still you're favorite subject… I've got a meet next Wednesday…"

Audrey waited for him to start laughing, like he was joking. One good look in to those pale blue eyes and she knew he was serious. She took a sip from her cup and shook her head.

"I couldn't…" She licked her lips and glanced down at her lap. "It really wouldn't be appropriate…"

She watched the blonde boy roll those amazing blue eyes and shift in his seat, so his body was turned facing her, "Fuck being appropriate, I want you there…"

"Seriously," She held up a hand to reason with him.

"It's normal for the teaching staff to come to the meets; it won't be that huge of a deal…" He was practically begging her, those blue eyes turning sad, and his perfectly kissable lips were pouting out at her.

She couldn't give in; she tried to stand her ground.

It was no use.

She couldn't say no to that face.

"Fine, but the minute it gets awkward I'm out of there…"

His pout dropped and a smile spread out across his handsome features. He looked absolutely amused at the idea of her coming to watch him. And he was, he couldn't wait to parade around in barely anything in front of her.

She couldn't resist him then, he was sure of it.

"Now that we got that out of the way," Reid rested his forehead against his fist, his blonde hair falling in to his eyes just a bit. "What is this I hear about you and Mr. D going out the other night?" He questioned.

Audrey shrugged her shoulders, and rotated her hand stirring her drink without a straw. Her lips pulled tight in to a straight line.

"He asked me out to dinner, it wasn't really a date… just dinner between to colleagues…"

"He's a creep,"

"So you've said…" She rolled her eyes. "But he's not… he seems like a good guy…"

"Did he make a move?" Reid questioned, his voice dropping down an octave lower than usual, causing chills to run down her spine.

Audrey lifted an arched eyebrow at him and shook her head, "That's none of your business…"

"He did," Reid concluded with a disproving look. "That sneaky bastard,"

Audrey rolled her eyes, "It wasn't sneaky. It was nice… why are you worried about my personal life anyway?" She questioned him.

Reid tilted his head to the side and gave her a look that pretty much said it all. She sunk deeper in to her seat and lifted the cup to her lips, trying to avoid his gaze.

She felt like she was back in high school again. Sitting with her crush of the week and having a fun conversation.

_But you aren't in high school_, she had to remind herself. _You are the teacher, and he is the student._

"We should change the subject," She decided shaking her head.

Reid lifted his shoulder in indifference, "Alright, so what kind of music do you like?"

Audrey smiled something that wouldn't bring up any connection between them. She smiled and answered without a second thought, "Classic Rock,"

"Really?" That blonde eyebrow shot up again in interest.

The dark haired woman nodded her head in answer, "I'm a huge Beatles fan, but I love Led Zeppelin, Lynard Skynard…" She closed her eyes. "Queen… Boston… Clapton…" She opened her eyes to see Reid smiling like a damned fool. "I could go on and on…"

"I told you we had a lot in common," He grinned at her charmingly.

It almost seemed like they had just gotten there, but when Audrey's cell phone began to buzz wildly she glanced at the time. Her eyes went wide; they had been sitting around talking and sipping cold coffee or tea if you were Reid, and just having a good time.

"We should really get going," She stated glancing down at the new text message that blinked on her phone.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"Nearly one," She responded.

"We've seriously been sitting here for almost three hours?" He asked scoffing.

"Yeah," She nodded her head and stood up, straightening out her jeans.

"Wow, time sure does fly…" He grinned standing fully erect.

She smiled seeing that he was much taller than her 5'6 frame. He was lean; but she really couldn't tell much else about his body under the layers of clothing that hid it. Audrey tossed her cup in the garbage and Reid followed her lead.

Walking out in to the nipping cold she suddenly wanted to run back in and cuddle back on the couch with the handsome blonde. Feeling pressure against her back she noticed that Reid's hand was on the small of her back, pushing her to him.

"I had a really good time," He whispered her body inches away from his.

She felt her breath catch in her throat, Reid smiled noticing.

"M—me too…" She whispered barely audible.

"We'll have to do this again sometime…" He urged.

She wanted to say yes, she wanted to tell him anytime anywhere she would be glad to go out for coffee, and just talk. She wanted to tell him that it didn't matter to her if they got caught, but it did.

She couldn't risk it.

"We shouldn't," She shook her head.

"Just as_ friends_…" He insisted.

Audrey stared up in to those blue eyes; his cheeks were slightly flushed from the cold wind raging its own war against his perfect complexion. Just as friends, it couldn't hurt to be friends. She might be able to pull that off.

"Ok," She agreed. "Just as _friends_…"

She said it more so for herself than anything. Reid grinned, and pressed a kiss against her cheek before letting her walk over to her car. She offered him a small wave before the blonde disappeared in to a black SUV.

Audrey sat there for a second, watching him pull out of the parking spot and head back towards Ipswich. She knew this probably wasn't going to end up how she wanted it to.

She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to take the consequences of just being friends with Reid Garwin.

* * *

**I would love to be just _friends_ with my fictional future husband... lol. Seriously, lack of caffeine is very, very bad for me!**


	6. Swim Meet

**A/N: **I couldn't find my muse for this story earlier, but I found him. He was hiding in Cara's closet... jokes... jokes... or maybe not... LOL! :)

* * *

**Chapter 06**

Audrey wasn't expecting Monday or the rest of the week to be normal. But, surprisingly it had been so far. The only excitement she had entailed was a heated discussion about Steven King amongst her first period class, and an invite to dinner from Elliot.

She figured she'd give him another shot. Everyone deserved a second chance, or was it if you fail try, try again? She didn't know. She didn't care. He was good looking and she hoped going out with him enough would drive her want to hang out with the blonde student subside.

He had asked her out Tuesday at lunch, just a casual dinner between two colleagues, but definitely a date. He had made sure to get that point across. He had chosen a place that Audrey wasn't sure was really appropriate. Nicky's. The residential hangout for all students at Spenser Academy.

Shaking her head at the thought she was packing up her things when she felt a pair of eyes on her. Turning around slowly she let an amused smile dance on her lips seeing the blonde lean against the doorway.

If she had been a teenaged girl she probably would have swooned. But, she was a grown woman who had her head and hormones in check. It wasn't until a sly grin slipped over those perfect lips that she cursed herself.

She was just as bad as a teenaged girl, if not worse.

"Reid, what are you doing here?" She asked slipping her bag on to her shoulder.

"Making sure you didn't forget about a certain swim meet," He pushed himself away from the door.

"Ah yes," She nodded watching him take long even strides towards her. "The swim meet," She grabbed her purse and shook her head. "I don't think I can make it."

His blue eyes darkened, "You have to come,"

"It's not really appropriate that I come watch you swim…" She cleared her throat. "In barely anything,"

Reid's lips twitch just a little bit as he moved closer to her; "We went over this Saturday, didn't we?" Reid backed her up against her desk. His hands shoved in to his front pockets. "I want you there,"

She wanted to go, intrigued even. But she didn't want to put herself in this situation. A situation that consisted of her staring at him, openly, wearing nothing but a small piece of clothing covering his nether regions; that could end very, very badly.

Those pale blue eyes were staring deep in to hers, almost intimately.

Audrey rested her hands on the table and swallowed hard, he was so close to her. She could smell him. He smelled sweet, his cologne was intoxicating, with a small hint of peppermint.

"Ok, b—but shouldn't you be headed in that direction?" She asked warding off the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Smiling, he pulled his hands out of his pockets, and placed them on the desk on either side of her. He leaned in closer, his lips inches away from her. "I think I need a good luck kiss," He decided.

She felt that lean, teenaged, body press against her. Her heart began to beat rapidly, as if she was running a marathon. But she wasn't, she was wedged between a desk and a very hot, very alluring, very off limits eighteen year old young man.

Audrey forced down the saliva in her mouth and willed her body to do something. She firmly placed her palms against his chest, fighting the terrible thoughts about the definition under the white oxford shirt. Along with this almost intolerable feat, she willed her brain to form words.

"Don't." Was all she could manage, her face flushing at her thoughts.

Reid's hands lifted from the hard oak desk and glided up her sides, not touching her but she could feel them. She bit her bottom lip, a moan of excitement wanted to break through her clenched teeth, but she couldn't let it.

His slender fingers wrapped around her wrists, he pulled them up to meet his mouth.

"I'll forfeit if you don't show," His voice was low as he pressed butterfly kisses to her knuckles.

Audrey stared at him. Her gut had told her to tell him she'd go and then bail out. But now, now he wanted to make sure she'd come. Would he really blow a meet just because she didn't show her face?

Defeated, she nodded her head. Reid grinned like a young school boy, letting her hands fall to her sides. He leaned in closely and took in her scent.

"I'll be looking for you Audrey,"

She didn't have to look at him to know that he was smiling, not smirking. He turned and walked away, not with his usual swagger, but with something else. She couldn't put her finger on it.

She shuffled out of her room, locking the door behind her and heading out to her car. She wanted to put her things away before heading towards the pool area.

Her heart was still beating a mile a minute and she couldn't figure out why he made her lose all of her senses. No man had ever done that to her. Not even her first love, she had never experienced that before.

It shocked her. That she had no control over her body when he was near, but at the same time, she liked the way he made her feel. As odd as it sounded.

It seemed as though it was Friday already, but it wasn't. It was merely Wednesday.

She shoved her things in to her car, only taking out her keys. She didn't want to be bothered with things like her purse or her bag. She headed towards the gym, in hopes that she wasn't the only teacher, or person to show up to this thing.

She was surprised, there weren't even enough places for people to sit. Apparently the entire student body, along with the means of the entire faculty were squished in to the area along with the other school and their parents and fans.

She hadn't expected this.

She was slightly amused, because then she wouldn't get caught. Though, she wasn't really sure what she'd get caught doing if she was caught. Ogling young, of age, boys was not against the law, though she knew it was probably frowned upon.

She was only human after all.

She eased her way through the crowd, not bothering to find a seat on the bleachers. She muscled her way through several teachers and stood over by the time keepers. She made sure she could see the bleachers, made sure that he could see her.

She watched several of the young men on the Spenser team filter out. Quite a few of them were in her class, so she tried her best not to stare at their half-naked bodies. It seemed so vile, so wrong.

That was until she laid eyes on him, she couldn't even find the power to move her eyes from his face, let alone his body. He was pale, contrasting against his three best friends, but it worked for him. He glowed.

She swallowed hard and shook her head, she knew it wasn't right but she couldn't keep her eyes from trailing down his handsome, chiseled bone structure, to that chest that was hiding under that white oxford.

He was lean, but muscular, he turned around to shoot a glare at the tallest member of their group, Caleb. She could see the muscles in his back from doing the backstroke. She had never found a man's back appealing, but she had never been with a swimmer before.

He turned back around and his eyes locked with hers, those miraculous blue eyes were showing a hint of amusement behind them. He didn't do what she thought he would do, slap his friends on the shoulder and say something along the lines of 'I told you so,'.

For that she was a bit astonished. He gave her a small, meaningful smile, before heading towards the bench where his teammates were.

She felt as if she was in her own world, staring at him almost longingly and hoping to God that no one noticed. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of arms encircle her waist.

Shocked, she nearly jumped a foot in to the air. She turned in the grasp and came face to face with a pair of burning brown eyes.

"I didn't know you liked swimming," He mused carefully a large grin on his face.

"I promised some of my students I'd give it a shot," She lied, almost effortlessly. She was proud of herself for coming up with such a quick response.

"Our infamous Sons of Ipswich?" He asked his eyebrows quirked.

"They may have had a slight leverage on me, yes…" She smirked at him.

His lips pursed and he nodded, "So, are we still on tonight, for Nicky's?"

"Of course," She grinned nodding her head. "I wouldn't miss it,"

It was true; she was hoping that their date would pull her out of her adolescent thoughts about the blonde Son that had been staring at her. The very one that had been enjoying her watching him as well.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw him staring, a look of contempt flashed in his blue eyes and he turned to look at his friends. Did he really dislike Elliot that much?

What was so bad about the handsome Calculus teacher?

Other than the fact that he seemed to be a ladies man, and had a roaming eye. She sighed at the thought, and she wondered if Reid had a roaming eye.

Once the thought crossed her mind, she chased it away. She couldn't be thinking like that. She couldn't compare apples with oranges and that was exactly what Elliot and Reid were. Elliot was a man, a handsome man, and Reid was a boy…a young, immature, nearly underage boy.

So why could she not fight the urge to turn around and stare at him again?

She turned around and stood shoulder to shoulder with Elliot, watching the team.

She watched as Caleb glanced over at them, Reid still with his back to her. He said something to Pogue who looked over at her; he said something to Reid before he lifted his hand and waved her over.

She furrowed her brows and looked around, was he waving her over? Seriously?

She glanced at Elliot, "Excuse me for a second, but I'm being beckoned…" She slipped away from him and headed towards the other side of the pool.

She was wary about what was going on, why had they called her over? She really hadn't had much interaction with the other two Sons of Ipswich, so why had they wanted her?

Confused she headed towards them; Reid turned around and smiled as she approached.

"What's up?" She asked looking at Pogue.

The long haired boy smiled at her, he had become very fond of her. He didn't see her the way that Reid did, though he found her good looking, but he liked her personality. She was funny and had a great taste in music.

"You looked a little uneasy around Mr. DeRosa," Caleb pointed out.

Did she? She hadn't really noticed, she was too busy trying to fight the thoughts of Reid from her hazy mind. She forced a smile.

"Not really, just thinking," She forced a smile.

"Oh?" Reid asked giving her a devious grin, he turned to look at her, and she diverted her gaze to the silent member of their group.

"Hey Miss Nolan," He nodded shyly hiding himself behind Reid and Caleb. She smiled and shook her head. She loved how modest the blue eyed brunette was.

"Tyler," She grinned and glanced at Pogue. "So, I hear our team is pretty good…" She mused glancing at Reid, trying to be subtle.

"The best," Reid beamed proudly. "How about I walk you back to the other side of the pool, Miss Nolan…" He said her name lowly, making goose bumps form on her arm.

"You should probably stay here, and you know… prepare or something…" She fumbled over her words.

"I insist…" Reid stated lifting his chin to his friends.

"Um, good luck guys…" She lifted her hand awkwardly and chanced at glance at the blonde.

"Enjoying the view?" He asked her suavely.

Pursing her lips together she stopped and looked at him, "Reid, just stop…" She whispered looking around, praying to God that no one could hear them.

"You know you love it," He grinned dangerously. "My heats fifth, I expect to hear some cheers out of you, Miss Nolan…" He grinned at her.

She held his gaze for a second and glanced over at Elliot who was staring at them. Questions haunting his brown eyes. She shook her head, and Reid glanced over to where she had been looking.

He lifted his hand and waved to him, causing Elliot to wave back a strange look adorning his handsome face. The blonde boy returned his gaze to Audrey and grinned, he tilted his head to the side.

"I'll win my meet, just for you…"

With that he turned around, he walked back to his friends, casting a glance over his bare, tattooed shoulder. She didn't know if it was possible for him to look any hotter.

Swallowing she shook her head and walked over to Elliot. He slipped his arm around her, and she felt her body stiffen just a bit under his touch. It wasn't warm like Reid's was, no.

It had an icy air to it, and she really didn't like it. It was a bit unnerving. She glanced over at the four Sons and sighed. Somehow they knew how she felt before she felt it.

"What did they want?"

"Thanking me for coming," She lifted her shoulder easily, mentally fighting the blush that threatened to creep on to her cheeks.

"And Reid?" He asked, his voice cold.

"Just bullshitting, as he normally does…" She laughed it off.

Elliot casted a glance down at her and she just lifted her shoulder in indifference. She wasn't about to let him on her inadvertent crush on one of her students. Not when Elliot and Reid clearly disliked each other, and that he worked with them. Not going to happen.

Elliot crossed his arms over his chest. The two of them stood like that, awkwardly for the rest of the meet.

She had cheered for each of her students, making sure it was not conspicuous when she cheered for Reid during his heat. Each of the Sons won their heat, and she was visibly excited for them.

The meet finished up and Elliot grabbed her arm as she headed over to the benches, "Where are you going?" He asked her.

Audrey glanced at his hand gripping her forearm a bit too roughly for her liking.

"Going to congratulate my students, I'll meet you at Nicky's…" She stated uneasily.

Elliot stared at her for a second; he gave her a warm smile and sighed, nodding his head. He leaned in a placed a kiss on her cheek; she forced a smile and headed over to the Spenser benches where students, teachers and family alike congratulated the boys.

She walked over and said congratulations to a few of her students before heading over to the Sons who were standing with the two beautiful girls that were dating the two eldest members of their little group.

"Hey guys, great heats…" She mused with a grin. "You guys are really, really good…" She nodded her head.

They all thanked her except for Reid who smirked at her, waiting for his friends to leave him alone with the object of his current affection. He leaned in closer to her, still sopping wet from dipping in to the pool.

"I can show you something else that I'm really, really good at…" He quipped with a grin on his face.

Audrey narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head, "You shouldn't be talking to me like that, especially not here…" She mused.

His grin widened at her statement, "I was talking about my amazing skills in pool…at Nicky's… tonight… in about twenty minutes?" He glanced around.

"Actually," She shook her head, her lips pursed. "I can't…"

"Why not?" Reid asked.

"I've got a date…" She stated glancing down at the ground, making sure she scanned over that amazing chest, and those taut abs before glancing down at the wet pavement around the pool.

"A date?" He mused rubbing his chin. "With Mr. D?" He asked.

"Yeah,"

Reid's index finger fell under her chin and he lifted her head, making her meet his gaze, "He's taking you to Nicky's isn't he?" He questioned.

"How'd you know?" She asked him.

"I know, I'll see you there…" He forced a grin to his face, but it didn't meet his eyes like it usually did.

She wondered how he knew that Elliot was taking her to Nicky's that night. She sighed and glanced around, the area around the pool was nearly deserted. Nothing like it had been during the meet.

Sighing she gathered her thoughts before trudging across campus back to her car.

* * *

**I love Josh Hartnett, but Elliot is starting to creep me out just a little bit. I'd liked to be cornered between a desk and Reid Garwin. YUM... R E V I E W -- it keeps me young, and it feeds my ego at the same time!**


	7. Growing Pains

**A/N: **I'm so glad you guys like this. I've got a general outline of the whole thing, but I will go where my muses carry me... so enjoy!

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**Chapter 07**

Arriving at Nicky's Audrey looked around the crowded parking lot. Nothing had changed much from her years of going to Spenser Academy. She knew from her days that the crowd never died down, no matter the day of the week, unless there was a better party going on somewhere else.

She swallowed hard not really feeling as though she was going to fit in with this crowd anymore. The dark haired woman entered the bar, the smell of smoke and alcohol immediately hit her nose. She felt her eyes tear up from the harsh smells.

She definitely didn't miss that every night.

Audrey searched the many faces, several of them familiar from class or the halls of Spenser. She found Elliot perched at the bar, a short glass full of an amber liquid sitting in front of him.

She weaved through the young bodies on the make shift dance floor. Her eyes continued to survey the bar. Her dark brown eyes landed on two of her students, the two eldest Sons of Ipswich, Caleb and Pogue who were playing foosball.

Pogue noticed her and smiled, which she returned.

Her gaze shifted across the bar to the pool tables, a familiar blonde grinning back at her. She stopped her path to the bar and the corner of her mouth lifted before she continued.

She took the stool right next to Elliot, pulling him out of his stupor. He gave her a genuine smile, before offering her a drink.

She accepted with wide open arms, ready for a drink. She ordered a whiskey sour and Elliot gave her an approving nod.

"No frou-frou drinks?" He questioned.

"I'm not really the frou-frou drink kind of girl…" She grinned taking a sip from the cup that the bar tender placed in front of her.

Elliot's lips pulled tightly over his teeth in a somewhat comforting grin. She looked around the bar and sighed.

"This place hasn't changed at all," She muttered.

The bald man behind the counter narrowed his eyes at her, "Wait a second…" He came closer, a small grin formed on Audrey's lips. "Don't tell me… it can't be…" He shook his head. "Audrey Nolan?"

"Hey Nicky… how ya'been?" She asked him standing up to lean over the bar. She wrapped her arms around the large burly man.

"Much better now," He gave her a smirk, she gave him a playful coy look. The older man's gaze shifted to the man sitting next to her and he noticed the familiar face. "El," Nicky nodded a look of discomfort on his face, Elliot gave him a slight nod back but didn't change his posture at all.

Audrey wondered what caused the smile to slip from his mouth, but decided to shrug it off. Elliot slipped his arm around her and brought her closer to him.

"So, did you like the meet?" He asked, his voice rising a bit with suspicion.

"I enjoyed it thoroughly, I guess I never really understood it, but I think I get it now…" She smiled taking another sip of her drink.

"Will you be attending more?" His brow cocked up at her in questioned.

"Possible," She shrugged, "But I'm a busy woman, so we'll see…"

He gave her a small smile and they continued to carry on over light conversation, ordering a couple of burgers and fries. Elliot was telling her all about his time in school, how he became interested in teaching, how he got his degree.

He as handsome, no doubt, but she found her attention drifting elsewhere, she met eyes with the gorgeous blonde and he lifted his chin to her. Audrey flushed and turned her attention back to Elliot, his hand tracing patterns against her exposed arm.

Shivers ran down her spine when he locked eyes with her, his eyes weren't as warm as she was expecting them to be. She pulled away slightly and her attention was grabbed by a familiar face next to her.

"Hey Nicky, can I get four cokes please?"

She turned her body to face him and smiled, "Caleb, great meet tonight…"

The young man turned and smiled at her, not realizing she was there, "Miss Nolan… hey… thanks." He grinned. "We appreciate you coming out there, we like to have all the support we can get…"

She saw a small glint in his eye, she picked it up as playfulness and realized that Reid had let his buddies in on it. That he had practically forced her out there, or he'd forfeit his match. She smiled and shook her had.

"Well, you know how it is… I aim to please," She grinned. "Anything to get you guys to open up in class,"

Caleb looked over her shoulder and noticed Elliot giving him a glare, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your date… Mr. DeRosa nice to see you…" Caleb's voice deepened as he stuck out his hand to the Calculus teacher.

"It's alright Caleb," Audrey answered giving Elliot a glance over her shoulder. "Just hanging out, y'know?"

Elliot cleared his throat and shook Caleb's hand, "Maybe we can get in a game of foosball later, Mr. Danvers?" Elliot questioned.

Caleb stared at him for a second, and then forced a small smile, "Definitely," He glanced at Audrey and bowed his head slightly as Nicky placed four cokes in front of him, "Thanks Nicky, put it on my tab?"

The bald man nodded and Caleb swiftly scooped up the four drinks skillfully and weaved through the bodies. Elliot placed a hand on her thigh and gave it a small squeeze.

"That's the only bad thing about this place, you can't escape the children," He took a long gulp of his whiskey.

"I don't mind really, they're good kids…" She looked around with a smile.

Elliot lifted his chin and his eyebrows with a slight nod, but nothing came out. Stretching her lips tight across her teeth she leaned forward, this was significantly awkward.

"Do you wanna dance?" She asked hoisting her thumb over her shoulder.

Elliot looked over at her, he glanced behind them and nodded his head, "Sure what the hell,"

She smiled and pulled herself out of the barstool, grabbing his hand and pulling him out on to the dance floor. The juke box played old classic rock, just how she liked it, she moved her body to the rhythm of the music. She didn't care if people were watching, and maybe that was a bad thing, but she had to get Elliot to loosen up.

She wouldn't be able to get _him_ off her mind, if the guy she was here with, wasn't really all there. She wrapped his arms around her waist and moved her hips to the beats running a rampage over the speakers.

"You're a great dancer," He mused getting in to the rhythm of the music.

"Thanks!" She grinned tossing her head back and swaying back and forth almost wildly.

After a couple of songs he seemed to loosen up and was back to the guy that she had first talked to. She smiled and they sat back down ordering a round of drinks for themselves. He grabbed his whiskey and lifted it up.

"Hey Mr. D, how about that game of foosball?" Caleb yelled over the music.

Elliot lifted his head to meet Caleb's gaze and lifted his chin in answer, he swung his legs around and placed a chaste kiss against Audrey's lips before she could react.

"I'll be back, don't go too far…" He declared.

She lifted a shoulder and sipped her whiskey sour, bemused by being left alone by her so-called d_ate_, though she wasn't going to complain. Her gaze shifted from the bar to the pool tables, she saw the youngest Son racking up a new round, but did not see the desirable blonde.

"Lookin' for me?" His voice tore her out of her avid search.

Brown eyes met a pair of blue ones a hint of mischief dancing in those pale blue irises. She arched her eyebrow up at him in question and he grinned.

"Wanna play a game?" He asked, his voice carrying a double meaning.

"Of pool, sure…" She slid off of her barstool tossing him a knowing glance, and heading over to Tyler Simms, drink in hand.

Reid followed behind her closely, his eyes taking in the tight jeans she had slipped in to, the heeled boots on her and the lacey, off-the-shoulder top she was donning. She looked good, really good to him.

"Miss Nolan," Tyler smiled shyly as he handed a pool stick over to her.

"Tyler, we're outside of class, you can call me Audrey," She grinned accepting the stick from the younger boy.

He blushed wildly and she grinned, he was absolutely adorable. She glanced behind her to see Reid checking her out, she tilted her head to the side and smiled at him.

"You any good?"

"I'm the best," He quipped easily letting his body brush against hers as he joined Tyler on the other side of the table. "You?"

"I'm not too shabby…" She lifted a bare shoulder and he grinned.

They were on their second game of pool, when she felt an intense gaze on her. She glanced over her shoulder, her stance ready to take a shot. Elliot. She had nearly forgotten why she had come here.

She had been chalking it up with Reid and Tyler that she had slipped out of reality for a second. She wasn't some teenage girl hustling the two pretty boys, no. She was a teacher, here on some sort of _date _with another teacher.

She stood straight up, her face falling. She had been laughing at Tyler's joke, as had Reid and the brunette boy, but the sound around them died down.

"Something wrong Aud?" Reid asked, using the nickname that he had so graciously started calling her.

"Yeah, I almost forgot…" She turned around and found Elliot leaving the foosball table with the two other boys.

"Oh, your _date_…" Reid quipped, a hint of betrayal laced in his usually smooth voice.

"Yeah, Ty… you wanna finish up this game with Reid? I'll see you guys tomorrow morning…" She cleared her throat handing the stick back over to the blue eyed brunette.

"Sure," He agreed.

Audrey shot an apologetic look to Reid, not really caring if anyone saw. She weaved back to her spot, her empty glass in hand. She stopped right in front of Elliot a small grin on her face.

"Wanna get out of here?" She asked him.

Elliot's grimace disappeared and a slow smile slipped on to his face. He pulled out a few bills from his wallet and put them on the bar, Audrey slipped her jacket over her bare shoulders, waiting for Elliot to join her.

She had to get Reid off of her mind, she had to get out of Nicky's and far away from the four boys that she felt like she was becoming unhealthily close to. Elliot grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bar.

"Where'd you have in mind?" He asked his lips dangerously close to hers.

She shivered, she wasn't sure if it was because of the cold hair heating her warm cheeks, or the odd feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach. She forced away the negative feelings and smiled up at him.

"We could head back to my place, and watch a movie or something…"

Elliot grinned, "I'll follow you there…"

She nodded her head; Elliot leaned in to her, pressing his lips against hers. They were warm, plump lips, and they knew what they were doing, but she didn't feel anything. No spark, no electricity, no nothing. It was just a really good kiss, like one shared between friends.

"I'll see you in a few…"

Audrey slipped in to her car; her eyes felt the need to travel back to the front steps of the bar. She felt her breath catch in her throat, a pair of piercing blue eyes stared back at her. They looked, different; they didn't seem to carry the same essence as they usually did.

They looked… hurt.

* * *

**Awe, Reid is totally crushing on his teacher, and it is totally cute. LOL. Excuse my excessive word of the word 'totally' in this note. I'm just a bit retarded today... Drunk on Love? Yes -- today is my wedding anniversary and my husband was sweet enough to send me an enormous arrangement of flowers. He's the greatest (for today)!**

So tell me what you'd like to see happen, its about that time I see what you guys are expecting, or want to see... it helps fuel my muses inspiration! 


	8. Curriculum

**A/N: **Shorter than the other chapters, and kind of a filler to hold you over, but I thought it was kind of interesting. Just because... I love Reid.

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**Chapter 08**

That night was far from interesting, other than Elliot trying to put the moves on her. She politely declined stating that she was too tired, and had to get up for work the next morning, and so did he.

He had left, and was still laying on the sweet tone of his when he kissed her good night.

Audrey stared straight ahead as she sat at her desk, waiting for her first period to start. She didn't know why but for some reason the look in Reid's eyes last night was very disturbing to her. She couldn't fight the feeling of guilt that was rising within her and she hoped that she could settle things with him.

She was going to let Elliot know that she wasn't really interested. However, she didn't know how she was going to word it. She really didn't have an excuse, other than she really didn't feel anything for him, romantically.

Tapping the pencil in her hand impatiently she didn't notice the presence of another person in the room with her until that someone was standing right in front of her. She looked up and a pair of thin, pink lips gave her a forced smile.

"Reid," His voice escaped her lips in a breathy movie heroine way. She nearly slapped herself for the way it came out without her knowledge.

The forced smile slipped in to a genuine one, "Audrey," He took a seat on her desk and glanced over at the door. "I wanted to offer the invitation out for coffee, again Saturday?" He questioned.

Audrey couldn't help staring up in to those amazing blue eyes; the dark haired American Literature teacher shook her thoughts.

She couldn't deny the fact that every time Elliot's hand caressed her shoulder, or her leg, she wished it was those pale, slender fingers that were now tapping on a uniformed knee. Or any time that Elliot's lips came in contact with hers, she would close her eyes and imagine that they belonged to the young student that happened to be staring at her now.

"Coffee?" She questioned, clearing her throat. "Saturday?"

The blonde boy nodded his head, "Yeah, same time, same place?"

She glanced down at her calendar, she had a lunch planned with her sister, but she glanced back up at him, "Sure," She nodded her head.

She knew she was probably going to hate herself for this later, but she couldn't deny the tug in her belly. Or the way that he made her entire body feel when he gave her that penetrating stare.

The blonde grinned, "Did you have a good time last night?"

"Playing pool with you and Tyler was a lot of fun…" She smiled and nodded.

"And the rest of your night?" He asked his voice lower than usual.

Audrey looked down and then back up at him, "Reid… you shouldn't be…"

She stopped when footsteps came through the door. She glanced over and noticed Caleb coming in and glanced up at Reid.

"You should take your seat, Mr. Garwin…" She informed him before getting up from her seat and walking to the door of her room.

She had to get away from him; the way he made her body temperature rise, and made her question herself it was becoming way too much for her to handle. The fine constraints of Spenser's walls were starting to close in around her.

Casting a glance over her shoulder she noticed him slowly remove himself from her desk and walk over to his seat and Caleb was giving him a questioning look. Audrey leaned against the door and watched as her other students began to filter in.

Reid fell down in to his seat lazily and stared straight ahead as Audrey leaned her head against the solid wood door. Caleb came down from his row of seats and leaned in to his friend asking what he was doing with Miss Nolan.

"Just talking," Reid stated carefully, his eyes never leaving her form as she greeted Sarah, Pogue and Kate with a large grin on her face. Her eyes warm as the blonde haired girl complimented her on her skirt she was wearing.

"You _do_ realize you can get her in a lot of trouble by being all over her in school…" Caleb whispered as Pogue headed up the steps to his seat, casting a questioning glance at the two.

"I wasn't all over her, we were having a friendly conversation… because we're _friends_…" Reid stated as he cut a look at the older brunette boy who was giving him a disapproving look.

"Can't you just drop this little crush that you have on her… she's not going to fall for an eighteen year old student who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life…" Caleb muttered angrily as he got up and walked away.

Reid glanced up at him and snickered, "Maybe she already has…"

The blonde slumped down further in his chair, his hands crossed over his chest, still staring as Aaron came through the door, sending a smirk in her direction. He had to keep himself from laughing as Audrey rolled her eyes as he passed her.

She was definitely a smart chick.

Audrey closed the door as the second bell rang and headed to her desk. She pulled out a stack of worksheets, she split them in to two stacks, she handed one to the brunette girl in the front row on the left, and the other half to the red headed boy in the front row on the right.

Watching the papers get passed around she smiled up at her class, "Right now you're getting a handout…" She watched the papers get passed around and scrutinized by a dozen pair of eyes. "On each of these sheets, you have five essay questions." Her lips pursed together. "You can choose to either work on this solo, or in pairs…"

She had expected to hear groans of afflicted teens, but instead the close erupted in to girls and guys alike asking who wanted to partner with them. She smiled and watched as Reid smirked up at her a grin on his face.

"Your work sheets will need to be turned in by Friday, before the end of the school day…" She looked around the room, avoiding his steady gaze. "Please come see me if you have any questions…"

She took a seat and started going through the plan of curriculum that Professor Walden left behind for his class. She had to figure out how she was going to curve it to fit her teaching style. She was deep in thought over the next area of the class. She looked up to check on the class only to see Reid's hands on her desk leaning forward.

"Can I help you Mr. Garwin?" She asked looking up at him.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd be my partner…" He gave her a boyish grin and she sat back in her seat.

"I think most people would call that cheating…" She cocked her head to the side and gave him a small smile. She was trying to keep her breathing steady, hoping not to give away that she might have had the slightest, tiniest bit of a crush on her own student.

Reid leaned down closer, glancing over his shoulder. All of the students in the class were wrapped up in their own little worlds that they weren't even paying two licks of attention to him or the smoking hot teacher in front of him.

"I wasn't talking about the essays…" He grinned wickedly at her before turning on his heel and jogging back to his seat.

Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This wasn't good. She knew it. It had trouble written all over it. She opened her eyes and immediately looked up at Reid who was hovered over his paper, his eyes locked on her.

She fought the blush that creeped on to her cheeks and returned to her dismal task of rearranging Professor Walden's curriculum.

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**Yay for an update. I love it, you love it. We all love it! -- Woohoo, in the next chapter things start to get interesting... and even creepier... **


	9. Rides and Nightmares

**A/N: **This chapter came quite easily, which was shocking... I struggled a it on how to start it, but after that it just kind of flowed... :)

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**Chapter 09**

She had managed to get through the rest of the class without being labored to breath by those startling blue eyes, or that wickedly amazing smile. No, she had fought all temptations to look in his direction, and was pleasantly thankful to Caleb who skillfully directed Reid out of the room before he could make a bee-line for her desk.

The busy day had come to an end, and she had gotten a great response from her classes about the essay questions. She remembered getting such things from teachers and the entire class would groan in dissatisfaction, but apparently times were a-changing.

Shuffling through her paperwork, she chewed on her bottom lip aimlessly. She stuffed a few of the papers in to a folder and sat back, stretching her arms over her head. She heard a tap on the doorframe of her classroom and looked up alarmed.

She smiled seeing her long-haired neighbor, and student poking his head in to look for her. She waved him in and sat forward in her seat.

"What's up Pogue?" She asked a small smile at his name, it was different, and she liked it.

"Well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind… giving me a ride home today?" He asked quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure, something wrong with your Beamer?" She asked with a playful glint in her eye.

"I stayed over at Caleb's last night, road to school with him…" He shrugged his shoulders.

"I see… let me finish up and I'll give you a lift…"

Pogue nodded and slipped his bag off of his shoulder, slipping in to a seat in the front row. She gave him a warm smile before shoveling her papers back in her bag. She could finish going over this at home.

Slipping in to her royal blue pea coat, she grabbed her bags and smiled over at Pogue, "C'mon… let's get out of here..."

Pogue smiled and followed her to the door. They were exiting her room talking about the assignment, and how Kate and Sarah pouted when he chose Caleb as his partner. Audrey laughed and told him that they were probably hoping to pair up with their boyfriends.

"I told Kate that I had to pair up with Caleb, because he's brainier… when it comes to this kind of stuff!" Pogue explained laughing as they headed towards the parking lot.

Audrey let out a loud laugh shaking her head, "I bet she wasn't too happy about that was she?"

Pogue shook his head, "No—"

He was cut off when Elliot stepped in their line of a view, a small grin on his face. Audrey looked shocked to see him still hanging around and glanced over at Pogue. She held up a finger and the long haired teen nodded his head.

"Elliot, hey…" She smiled at him, a bit uncomfortable when he reached out to touch her.

Elliot took her hand and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arm around her waist, "I've been looking forward to seeing you all day."

A weary small crossed her lips and she looked back at Pogue, "Really?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out tonight… maybe go out to dinner, or a movie?" He asked.

Audrey stared up in to his cold brown eyes and shook her head, "Sorry Elliot, I can't… not tonight…" She put her palms against his chest, pushing away from him. "I promised Pogue I'd take him home, and I've got to work on my teaching plan for the next couple of weeks…"

Elliot looked over at Pogue who was leaning against a set of lockers with one leg bent and his arms crossed over his broad chest. Audrey could tell that the dark haired man probably wasn't pleased. She saw a dangerous glint cross his eyes and she was taken back by this.

"So, you're in to younger guys… that it?" Elliot whispered under his breath shaking his head.

"No, it's not like that…" Audrey bit her bottom lip and looked away from him. "He lives across the hall from me; it's not a big deal. It's just a ride…"

"I'm sure," Elliot snickered and shot a look at Pogue, which startled the younger man. He pulled his body away from the lockers; Audrey glanced back at him, the look on her face saying it all.

"Sorry Mr. D… Kate's coming over tonight and I really wanted to get home and change before she got there… you mind?" He asked as politely as he could.

Elliot swallowed and released his grip on Audrey, "I'll call you tonight, maybe we can get take out or something?" He offered.

Audrey didn't say anything; she just walked past him, catching up with Pogue. She casted a glance over her shoulder and noticed Elliot watching like a hawk, his shoulders were slumped back, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and an intense look adorned his usually handsome face.

"That guy gives me the creeps…" Pogue muttered as they exited the building.

"I'm starting to agree with everyone when they say that…" Audrey groaned as the snow whipped in to their faces. "What's his deal, do you know?"

Pogue lifted a shoulder and slipped in to the passenger's seat of her car, "I know he was married for a couple of years, has a couple of kids… divorced…" He craned his neck to look around. "And from what I hear, he has a thing dating some of the female teachers at the local publics…"

Audrey raised an eyebrow at this and sighed, maybe he just liked dating someone who could relate to him? Pursing her lips together she pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards their apartments.

Their conversation slipped in to a different subject, and somehow fell upon Pogue and his three best friends. He laughed as she called them by their infamous nickname.

"You guys have known each other for a long time, huh?" She asked with a small smile.

"Practically since birth…" The dishwater blonde grinned. "Caleb and I are the closest in age, and then Reid and Tyler…"

"Tyler's the youngest, right?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's our baby boy…" He chuckled a bit and glanced up at the apartments that she had just pulled in to. "Caleb and I are the oldest, so we have to keep those two out of trouble…"

"Reid a trouble maker?" Audrey asked sarcastically. "I wouldn't have thought it…"

Pogue glanced at her and smiled, he sat there for a second after she turned the car off, "Miss Nolan…" He paused and bit his bottom lip.

"What's wrong Pogue?" She asked carefully, not sure what cause the sudden change in Pogue's demeanor.

"I um—well… Reid seems to really dig you…" He cleared his throat. "And you're a really cool lady…" He scrunched up his face. "So, I don't want you to get in trouble with the school or anything…"

Audrey held up her hand, "Pogue, there is nothing going on between Reid and I…" She assured him. "He's a flirt; it's encoded in his DNA or something…" She played it off. "I told him that nothing could happen between us because it wouldn't be right…"

Pogue smirked and shook his head, "I was going to say…" He laughed. "That if you and Reid _did_ hook up… I wouldn't be against it…"

He didn't say anything else; he opened the car door and headed up the steps to his apartment. Audrey sat there for a minute, registering what Pogue had just said to her. He was practically telling her 'Hey, you can screw around with my barely legal friend, and I won't tell…'! She didn't exactly know what to make of that.

She grabbed her things and headed up to her apartment, she had that weird feeling like someone was watching her again. She hated that feeling, casting a glance over her shoulder she took in the area around her.

She noticed a vehicle that didn't belong out in the parking lot. It looked familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Sighing, she entered her apartment, loving the warm wave of air that hit her face.

Her cheeks tingled at the change in temperature, but she didn't mind. Shutting and locking the door behind her she slipped off her shoes and her coat putting them away in the hall closet. She tossed her school bag and purse on the couch and entered the kitchen.

Pogue's words running through her head as she pulled out a bottle of wine and a glass. She deserved a drink. Or at least, she thought she did. It had been a long day, and looking as though a long week, with only one day left.

The phone call from Elliot was dim. He had been a bit standoffish, and when she had told him that she wasn't really in the position to see anyone, he really didn't like it. He urged her to go out with him again. Told her that he would make it worth her while.

Audrey declined, she told him he was a great guy, and that they could be friends. Elliot didn't say much to this and hung up shortly after.

Perplexed by his behavior, Audrey found herself in an odd predicament that night when she went to bed. She had terrible nightmares, that were probably triggered by her uneasy feeling a bout Elliot and the fact that she had been feeling like someone was watching her.

Waking up in a cold sweat the next morning, Audrey found herself gasping for air. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and glanced at the clock. She had an hour before she was supposed to be up for work, but she couldn't think of going back to sleep, not with the thoughts that were causing her to have such terrible dreams.

Pulling her body out of bed she felt the pain in her back, the result of a restless night's sleep. She slinked off to the shower and started getting ready. She hated that something as silly as a bad dream was keeping her from sleep.

By the time she got to work and kids littered the hallway she was really in no mood for working. She was glad that she was giving her classes the period to work on their essays. She tried her best to cover up the signs of lost sleep with her concealer, but the make up could only do so much.

Audrey stood up from her desk and stretched, her entire body was aching now and she hated that she let those dreams have an effect on her. She hoped that no one would be able to tell that she had lost sleep.

Biting her bottom lip she paced around her classroom, the sound of knocking from the door caught her attention. Audrey turned around and nearly yelped out in horror at the sight before her. Elliot was leaning against the door frame.

"What are you doing here, Elliot?" She asked her mouth barely moving as she spoke to him.

"Thought I'd give it another shot in person," He lifted a shoulder and strolled in to the room, a look of determination on her face.

"Elliot, that's really sweet…" She looked down at the ground, "But I'm not really interested…" She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "You're a really great guy but… I just don't feel anything romantically for you…"

"It doesn't have to be romantic…" He gave her a sexy little grin, the corners of his mouth rising.

"Sorry, but I'm not that kind of girl…" She pressed her hand against his chest, he had stepped closer to her and was nearly looming over her shorter frame.

"Go to lunch with me tomorrow," He requested.

Audrey shook her head, "I have plans…"

"With who?" He questioned, his dark brown eyes darkening at the rejection.

"No one you know," She told him evasively. "I've got some things to do before class starts… so if you'll excuse me…" She looked at the door and then back at him.

"You'll come back…" He muttered angrily, "They always come back…"

A bit freaked out, Audrey watched him leave her room. She hurried back over to her desk, wanting to desperately close the door and lock it behind him, warding off everyone that came in to the room.

She should've stayed home today, she shouldn't have come in.

"Audrey…" The way he said her name made goose bump rise on her flesh. She looked up and that beautiful head of blonde hair was poking in to her room. She smiled and waved him in. "You feeling ok?" He asked.

"Fine," She answered. "Can I help you with something, Reid?"

A look of concern flashed in those baby blue eyes and he took a seat on her desk, his right hand shooting out to touch her cheek gently, "You don't look ok…" He told her.

"Don't worry about it, Reid..." She looked up at him. Her eyes full of something, but Reid couldn't exactly pinpoint the emotion. "This doesn't concern you."

Reid narrowed his eyes at her, "I believe it does." The blonde boy placed his hand on top of hers. "You look like someone's bothered you. Tell me who it is and I'll take care of them..."

Audrey held back the laugh that threatened to choke out, "Relax killer..." She shook her head. "It's fine really..." She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but failed.

"I don't believe you Audrey,"

"Reid, you have to stop calling me that..." She looked down at their hands, pulling hers away from him.

"Why?" He asked his tone questioning. "I've been calling you that every since we met..."

"Reid, this isn't right..." She pursed her lips together, "It's so wrong..."

The blonde scoffed hurt, "I'm eighteen, there is nothing illegal about this..."

"I could lose my job," Her eyes narrowed in on the blonde boy.

"I told you before; no one has to know..." That confident grin spread across his handsome face. "Not until after I graduate..."

"No," She shook her head vigorously. "This can't happen... us being friends is complicated enough..."

He was growing impatient with her, "No one said life was easy..."

"Reid this is my career, my life..." She pointed out to him, hoping that he would understand where she was coming from.

"You can tell them I seduced you..." Reid gave her a wicked grin.

Audrey stood up, she was standing her ground, "No Reid... this can't happen..."

The happiness that was dancing in those pale blue eyes vanished in seconds. His grin slipped away and was replaced with a small frown, something that she had never seen cross his face in the two weeks that she had been here.

"Reid…" She swallowed, upset that she was hurting him. She hadn't meant to, but she couldn't risk losing her job for some crush she had on an eighteen year old student. She would never be bale to work in the field again if she got caught.

He shook his head and lifted himself from her desk, not saying a word he left solemnly. Audrey fell back in to her chair, hating herself. She didn't like to see the sadness in his eyes. It matched the same look he had when he watched her leave Nicky's with Elliot.

How was she going to get out of this? How was she going to ward off the feelings that were rumbling in the pit of her stomach? The feeling of jubilance that ruptured her nearly speechless when she met his gaze or the way that her stomach tightened and pulled when those soft fingertips grazed over any part of her body.

She shook her head; she would have to ignore them. Play the role of teacher, and that was it. She glanced at her calendar and noticed her note for tomorrow. She had rescheduled with her sister, and pushed back their meeting until after coffee with Reid.

Would she go? She shouldn't. She knew that. But maybe… just maybe she might.

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**Things start kicking in to gear here... yay. Thank goodness... I can't wait to get to the good stuff!**


	10. Coffee, Lunch & a Movie

**A/N: **A long chapter to make up for my lack of updating. I'm sorry... my muse left me for a short period of time. But, it's back, and hopefully will stick around (I think I'm going to try and finish Hidden Deliverance first though, we'll see how that goes).

_Also, if you go to my profile, and under my updates there is a link to a new poster/banner that I made for this story. Not my greatest work with photoshop but I'm getting back in the swing of things._

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**Chapter 10**

The blonde haired boy plagued her thoughts. He was all she could think about. Part of her was telling her to get out of the car, the other part of her was telling her to turn around and head back to Ipswich.

She followed her instinct and got out of the car. She wrapped her coat tightly around her waist and looked around; she really hated the feeling she was having. It was like everywhere she went she was being followed, and she could have sworn she heard the distinct clicks of a camera.

_No_, she shook her head. _You're just imagining things Audrey_. She told herself.

She walked in and noticed Reid was there, she had scene the black Hummer he usually drove was in the parking spot next to hers. He grabbed the two cups that were being handed to him and he turned to go back to the couch, that's when he spotted her.

His eyes were darker than usual but upon seeing her they lightened. She gave him a warm smile and met him at the couch they had met at a week ago. She folded one leg under her as she accepted the coffee cup he handed to her.

"Thank you," She smiled.

"I'm surprised you came," He told her honestly.

Audrey licked her lips, "I almost didn't…"

"What made you change your mind?" He was amused by her honesty. Audrey lifted her shoulder and pursed her lips together. Reid smiled to himself and leaned forward to her, "It's my irresistible charm, isn't it?"

Audrey laughed and took a sip of the warm liquid, "That might have had something to do with it…" She grinned and Reid smiled genuinely at her.

Reid licked his lips and tilted his head to the side, "Look, Audrey…" He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and looked like he was thinking very hard. She looked at him expectantly and he reached out, taking her hand in one of his.

Audrey opened her mouth but nothing came out, she couldn't even tell him not to do that. Not to touch her. She felt the tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach and nearly felt sick, but not in a bad way. Not at all.

"I like you," He told her, a faint blush rising on his cheeks. Audrey looked at him in complete awe and shock. "I know it's only been a couple of weeks but…" He sighed, placing his cup between his legs, using his now free hand to rake through his luscious blonde hair. "I can't help it…"

Audrey sipped her coffee and looked at Reid from over the lid; she had been talking herself in and out of this all night and all morning. How could she possibly have fallen for one of her own students, the idea seemed preposterous.

"Audrey?" Just the way he said her name gave her goose bumps.

"Reid," Her voice was low and he leaned in to hear her. "I like you too…" She looked down at her hand that was being held in his and sighed.

"But?" He knew it was coming and he wanted to get it out of the way.

She chewed nervously on her bottom lip, her brown eyes surveying the coffee house around them, Reid's grip on her hand tightened. He gave her a single shake of his head, letting her know that there was no one here that could recognize them, or overhear what they were talking about.

"If anything between us does happen," She paused and glanced up to meet his gaze. "I could get in to a shit load of trouble, Reid…" Reid smiled hearing her words. "I could loose my teaching credentials…"

He used he free hand to brush her bangs out of her face and smiled, "I told you no one hast o know until after graduation," He replied.

"You make it sound easy…" She laughed shaking her head.

"It can be," He let his soft fingers trail up her hand, causing goose bumps to form on her skin as he settled back in to the couch, much more at ease than he was this morning driving in to Boston.

"We'll take whatever this is, slow." She stated her eyes not leaving his.

"I can do slow," He grinned at her wickedly.

Audrey caught the innuendo and blushed. She gave his shoulder a slight push and settled in to the couch. She felt a little more relaxed and Reid took a sip of his tea.

"You're terrible," She laughed hitting his leg with her hand.

He winked at her and watched her relax visibly, "What are you doing after coffee?" He asked her.

"I promised my sister I'd meet her for lunch," She pursed her lips together.

"Ah, so what about a movie… after that?" He questioned.

Audrey glanced at him shortly and laughed to herself, "Taking it slow?"

"Just as friends!" He exclaimed his eyes wide a grin on his handsomely smug face. "Just two people who know they like each other, taking it slow, going to an innocent movie…"

Her laugh was musical and Reid couldn't stop himself from smiling every time he heard it. She tilted her head to the side and nodded.

"I'm meeting her in Boston for lunch, and I'll call you when we're done?" She asked.

She took a long gulp waiting for his answer, "Is your sister as hot as you?" He asked carefully a sly grin on his face.

"Way, way too old for you…" She laughed shaking her head.

"Age ain't nothin' but a number, baby…" The blonde boy drained the rest of his tea.

"You're too much, you know that?" She asked him carefully with an inspecting eye his way.

He smugly cocked his head to the side and grinned, "I try…"

They talked amongst themselves as Audrey finished her coffee. She glanced down at her watch and sighed. Reid raised an eyebrow at her in interest and she snickered.

"I've got to head out, but I'll call you, ok?"

Audrey had saved his number in her phone when he left it in her day planner. Reid lifted himself off of the couch and extended his hand to her, she gladly accepted it and he pulled her directly in to his arms.

She felt a warm sensation pulling in her stomach. She looked up at him and blushed madly; her body never reacted like this to a guy, never. Reid's lips twitched in to a handsome grin and he pushed her hair out of her face, those soft fingertips gliding over her face.

"I should really get going," She whispered barely having an control over her words.

"I'll walk you to your car," He proposed.

All she could do was nod her head, bundling herself up by wrapping her emerald scarf around her neck. When they stepped outside the snow was falling again, she groaned to herself hating the snow sometimes.

"I'll see you later?" She asked him with a glint of excitement in her eyes.

"Most definitely," He nodded his head.

Grinning she turned to head to her car when he grabbed her hand and made her turn back around. She came eye to eye with him, he was leaning down just slightly so he was eye level with her. A look of complete seriousness on his face.

"Be careful, ok?" He whispered to her softly, his voice low and husky.

She felt the bumps on her arm, not from the cold but from his tone. He probably had no idea what that voice did to her. She smiled at his concern and leaned forward placing her warm lips against his cold cheek.

"You too," She whispered lowly before slipping away to her car.

In her car she took a few deep breaths to calm her down before pulling out her phone to call her sister. She only had to wait a ring and a half before her older sister picked up the phone. Audrey told her she was on her way and to go ahead and get a table.

Upon arriving at the restaurant the snow had gotten worse, it was starting to come down in just white sheets instead of small flurries. She rushed to get under the awning; she went straight through the double doors and located her sister.

Marilyn Nolan-Graves looked just like her sister, just slightly older, standing up she wrapped her arms around her sister and hugged her forcefully. They hadn't seen each other since Audrey moved back to Massachusetts.

"God Marley, you look great!" She grinned using her sister's nickname; she held her out at arm's length.

"You have no room to talk, you look absolutely smashing!" Marilyn grinned happily.

Audrey lifted a shoulder and sat down across from her sister, "You know had to get dolled up meeting my sister, the big CEO…" She grinned happily.

Her sister ran a large corporate company here in Boston, and she was married to a stock broker who raked in just as much cash as she did. Though, her excuse was only half true, and her sister could see right through her.

"You're meeting a guy…" The dark haired woman across from her pointed out.

Audrey stared at her and shook her head, "No, I'm not…"

"You are!" Marilyn clapped her hands together. "Do I know him?" She questioned her mouth open as she tried to think of who it might be. "Maybe a fellow teacher?" She arched her perfect eyebrow up at Audrey who shook her head. "Coach?" Again Audrey shook her head. "Some big time lawyer or judge?"

Audrey sighed, "No… there is no guy…"

Marilyn slumped down in her seat and stared at her sister, "I know you're lying. You suck at lying Aud… I don't know why you think you can get away with it."

"Ok fine," She caved, knowing that she could share this with her sister, if anyone at all. "But you have to swear to do two things for me…" She held up two fingers.

"Whatever Aud, you know I take your secrets to the grave…" Marilyn pointed out with a grin. Audrey narrowed her eyes at her in complete disbelief. "Ok, that time I told mom you lost your virginity in her bed was _so_ not my fault!"

"Whatever," Audrey rolled her eyes remembering the look of horror on her mother's face when Marilyn spilled the beans about where Audrey Kathleen Nolan had lost her virginity. She sighed and shook her head. "It's serious, Marley!" She licked her lips.

Marilyn nodded her head, "Go on,"

"First," She leaned in close. "You can't tell anyone… no one, not even Anthony…" She stated referring to her brother-in-law. "Or mom!" She pointed to her sister. Marilyn nodded her head dully. "Second, you cannot… not judge me… OK?"

"Why would I judge you?" Marilyn questioned pensively.

"Because the guy I'm meeting up with, or met up with and will be meeting up with again is…" Audrey chewed on her bottom lip and Marilyn's eyebrows arched again.

"It can't be that serious, Aud…"

"It is," Audrey confessed. She lowered her voice, "Marls, I could lose my job over this…"

"Oh my God, don't tell me…" Marilyn gawked at her. Audrey nodded her head slowly, "No way…" She covered her mouth as a waitress came by and took their drink order.

"I know, I tried really hard…" Audrey stated with a small smile. "He's really charming, and he's got a great sense of humor." She shrugged her shoulders. "I think I really like him."

"But a student?" Marilyn leaned forward. "C'mon… Aud you can't become the next Debbie Lafave…" Her voice was low as she leaned across the table.

"Look, we're just friends…" She cleared her throat and stopped talking when the waitress came by and set their drinks down and took their order. As soon as she was out of earshot Audrey turned back to her sister. "It's not like he's fourteen or something," She rolled her eyes. "He's eighteen and he graduates in May…" She pursed her lips together.

Marilyn's face fell and she sighed, "Just friends though?"

Audrey nodded her head and Marilyn pursed her lips together, "Just friends."

"What's his name?"

Lunch with her sister was seemingly better after she got the fact that she was just friends with one of her students, though her feelings rivaled that situation. She felt differently towards him than she would a friend, but she couldn't jeopardize her career.

The two sisters finished up and Marilyn picked up the tab, walking her sister out to her car. She looked at the small car and smirked glancing over at her Mercedes.

"You always were the modest one," Marilyn grinned wickedly.

"I don't like to flash," She lifted her shoulders indifferently.

Marilyn rolled her eyes, "I love you, call me later, ok?"

"Will do, love you too…"

Audrey slipped in to her car and cranked the engine waiting a few minutes for the heat to kick on. Licking her lips she pulled out her cell phone and found Reid's name in her contacts. She called him waiting for him to answer, he answered after the second ring.

"Meet you at the theater in ten."

There was no question in his tone, only a simple phrase before he hung up and left her completely bewitched. She was mesmerized by his voice; it was smooth and husky at the same time. It carried a confidence, and when the time served a vulnerability that she couldn't faintly pick up on.

She was going to have to put up her best guard here. Audrey was going to be alone, with a handsome, eighteen year old, very-hormonal teenager in the dark, in close proximities. This had trouble written all over it.

She parked her car outside of the theater and looked around. It was getting pretty packed and she prayed that no one would see them here together. She glanced in her rearview and she didn't see anyone, but she was still having that itching feeling that someone was watching her.

Her brown gaze shifted over the cars looking for one that looked suspicious, but she found none. Waving it off as her imagination she climbed out of her car, folding her arms over her chest. She headed inside and was glad for the inside ticket booths.

She was about to get inline when she noticed a head of familiar blonde hair standing next to a handsome brunette. She noticed the brunette right away as the blonde's best friend, Tyler Simms.

A wave of relief washed over her, she wasn't going to be alone with him, thank God!

She didn't know if she could contain herself if that had been the case. She had done her share of naughty things in the back row of the movie theater, but she was hoping that she could refrain from her old school ways.

The blonde noticed her and lifted his chin, as if inviting her over. She headed towards them and gave a small grin in Tyler's direction, causing the dark haired boy to blush wildly.

"Reid, Tyler…" She smiled as Reid casted a glanced at Tyler.

"Miss Nolan," Tyler said her name quietly.

Audrey laughed and put a hand on Tyler's shoulder, "C'mon Tyler… I told you we're not in school… you can just call me Audrey…"

She realized that this boy was too polite for his own good sometimes. He nodded his head and they headed to the refreshment table, Tyler looked as if he was looking for something, or someone. Audrey was about to question it when the unasked inquiry was answered.

A beautiful blonde came out of the bathroom area and headed straight towards them, a small grin on her lips as she walked up to them. She wasn't familiar to Audrey, and Audrey hoped that she didn't' attend Spenser.

"Audrey Nolan, this is Claire Hurst…" Reid pointed to the blonde. "Tyler's girlfriend…"

Audrey tried to hide her amused expression, she had no idea Tyler had a girlfriend. He seemed the type of guy that was shy and probably clamed up around girls. Claire smiled and stuck out her hand to her, Audrey accepted it.

"Nice to meet you Claire,"

"You as well, do you go to Spenser with the guys?" She asked looking from Tyler to Reid.

Audrey swallowed hard and looked at Reid who shrugged his shoulders, "Something like that," the blonde boy answered smugly. "C'mon baby boy, we're going to miss the movie…"

Reid placed his hand on the small of her back and lead her in to the movie theater. Audrey sat between Reid and Tyler and Reid humored her by doing the fake yawn and arm move. She smirked and pushed him away.

"Do you really think that works?" She asked with a snicker in his direction.

Tyler laughed as the lights dimmed in the theater. Audrey found that Tyler eased up on his shyness while the four of them joked around making fun of the previews and having a good time. She felt like a kid again, just hanging out with a couple of friends going to catch the new movie that was out.

It was nice to feel normal for a little while, something that she wasn't used to. Reid had lifted the armrest between them and she found her body literally levitating towards his. His arm secured around her waist, her body leaning in against his coolly.

She felt his fingertips dancing at the hem of her shirt, softly drawing circles on her hip. She couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of his arm around her, the feeling of his featherlike touch on her skin. It was soothing, relaxing, and quite frankly a complete turn on.

The movie ended and the four of them walked out of the movie theater, Reid still chummily had his arm around Audrey, and Tyler was wrapped around his girlfriend, Claire. Reid noticed a shop across the street and lifted his chin to Tyler.

The younger boy nodded his head; Audrey narrowed her eyes at the small shop and noticed it was kind of like a bakery, but with pastries. Reid grabbed her hand and pulled her not-so-gracefully across the snow-covered pavement.

They fell in to the shop, laughing about the fact that Tyler nearly fell causing Claire to tumble herself as they jumped on to the sidewalk. Audrey let out a low laugh and Reid smiled over at her. They all ordered some kind of pastry and sat down talking.

"So how was lunch with your sister?" Reid asked carefully.

"Good, I haven't seen Marley since I moved back to Massachusetts…" She confessed with a heavy sigh.

"Marley?" Tyler looked at her. "Like Bob Marley?"

Audrey laughed, "Her name's Marilyn, but she hated it growing up so I gave her the nickname Marley…"

"Marilyn and Audrey…" Reid said both of their names a smug look on his face.

"Like Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn?" Claire asked her brow knitted together.

Audrey laughed and nodded her head, "My mother was huge on the old starlets…" She shrugged her shoulders. "She was very unoriginal, James Dean Nolan is my eldest sibling, Marilyn Jean Nolan-Graves is my older sister… and Audrey Kathleen Nolan…"

Reid grinned, "Names after two of the hottest women in the world, can't go wrong there…"

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**When I was thinking of a name for Audrey's sister, the first name that came to mind was Marilyn. So I decided to use that as my inspiration. James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn (if you don't know who they are... shame SHAME on you! And go google them...) **

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_Skyy's Useless Drabble for the Day:_ Aside from that, I'm reading Twilight (thanks to Cara!) and I have to say I'm hooked on it. Though, Bella is kind of irritating me just a little bit, but nonetheless I like/love it. I want to do some unmentionable things to the sexy Edward Cullen, seriously vampires are hot!


	11. Detention

**A/N: **God, I love Audrey/Reid... they really like each other... my muses told me so... lol. If you haven't noticed, I let me muses rule my world... its soooo much better that way!

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**Chapter 11**

When Monday came Audrey wasn't sure exactly how she was going to act around Tyler and Reid, it worried her that one of them might say something to someone they shouldn't. She felt a wave of relief wash over her when Reid slinked in, like he normally did, his eyes glued to her, but his mouth shut.

His silence was slightly endearing for her.

By the end of the day she was a bit more relaxed about the weekend that passed, and wasn't too afraid of talking to Reid or Tyler before and after their classes. Caleb and Pogue had stopped to talk to her briefly and Sarah complimented her on her outfit, Kate gushing about her shoes.

She felt like one of the students talking with them so casually.

It wasn't until the end of the day when she was told that the Provost wanted to see her did she start to sweat. Walking what felt like the walk of shame threw her through a loop. Her stomach twisted in heavy knots making her feel nauseous, her hands were sweating and shaking and she really felt like one of the kids now.

She entered the office, running her hands down her grey work pants, the receptionist smiled at her and held her hand up to the Provost office. Audrey swallowed hard, she remembered the first time she entered the provost office as a transfer student her sophomore year of high school.

It seemed like a long time ago, but the feeling in the pit of her stomach was the same. She sighed; holding her head up high she walked in to the office, feeling a thousand different emotions run throughout her body.

"Miss Nolan," The Provost greeted standing up from his desk.

"Pr-Provost Higgins…" She smiled at the man, taking his hand in a firm shake.

"Take a seat, take a seat…" He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk.

Audrey did just that looking around a bit nervously; the same picture of the Provost from his college years wearing his football gear was right behind him. She smiled and turned her attention back to those usually stern cold eyes.

"I asked you in here this afternoon Miss Nolan…" He grinned, holding her gaze.

He was smiling; Audrey knew this was a good thing, or sort of a good thing. She lifted an eyebrow as if asking him to continue. The Provost nodded and pulled out a file.

"I first wanted to see how you were doing, adjusting well to the classes?"

"Oh yes, definitely… all of my students are wonderful…" She mused with a large smile. She fought the urge to praise the four Sons; she didn't want to come off as biased, though she could feel herself becoming more so every day.

"That's fantastic, Audrey…" Provost Higgins clapped his hands together. "From what I've heard you have four of our most prestigious students in your class, correct?"

Audrey nodded, she wasn't the only one who was biased, "Yes sir, I have Caleb, Pogue and Reid in my first period class and Tyler in my third…"

"Amazing young men they are…" Provost nodded his head. "Good boys for the most part, except for Mr. Garwin…"

"Garwin, he's been a pleasure…" She tried to hide the smile that creeped over her lips.

"He's a smart kid by nature," Audrey settled in to her chair a little easier. "He has a way with the ladies, but also… he has a short temper…"

"Does he?" Audrey smirked a little remembering him about to fight with Aaron Abbot in the hall on her first day.

"Yes, this brings me to my next subject…" Provost looked down at the paper in his hand.

That made her a little bit nervous, they were just talking about Reid and now he wants to get to the next subject? Had someone seen her with Reid this weekend in Boston? The thought made her stomach turn. She did not want to get in trouble for 'hanging out' with her students.

"I usually like to see my teachers involved in after school activities…"

She let out a sigh of relief, "Yes sir,"

"Professor Walden was our after school detention teacher, and I wanted to extend the invitation to you Miss Nolan… after school, one hour a day?"

Audrey stared at the man for a few minutes before answering, detention? Not exactly what she had in mind for after school activities, but she wouldn't have to coach, no long hours after school. She could live with that.

"Alright, Provost Higgins that would be great…" She agreed.

Provost smiled and nodded his head, "Great, if you wouldn't mind… it will start this afternoon…"

Audrey glanced down at her watch and then back up at him with a simple nod before standing up. She gave the Provost a hand shake before heading back to her class to gather her things and head to the library where detention was held.

She locked up her classroom and as she was doing so a pair of hands rested on her hips. She jumped about a foot in the air while turning around quickly to stare at whoever decided to sneak up on her.

Brown eyes met brown eyes and she held her chest, "Elliot you scared the crap out of me," She exclaimed.

The thought of him putting his hands on her like that after everything that had happened was a bit strange. He had really creeped her out last week, and she didn't like that feeling.

"I didn't mean to," He tilted his head to the side, giving a sexy little grin.

"What's up?" She asked casually straightening out her shirt before she started walking towards the library.

"Well, I was thinking that you and I could go out tonight, I know this great Thai restaurant in Salem, I think you'd love it…" He strolled casually next to her.

"I can't…" She shook her head slightly.

Elliot's brow furrowed, "Why not?"

"I've got an hour of detention, and I've got papers to grade," She licked her lips and glanced over at him.

Why was he not getting the picture? She had told him no repeatedly, and he was still hounding her for another date.

"I'll have you home early…" He offered, shoving his hands in his front pockets.

Audrey stopped walking and turned to look at him, "Elliot, seem like a really great guy…" She paused and looked down at the ground, "But I… I just can't have a relationship right now…" She fumbled around for an excuse. "I'm just trying to get my life back on track, and it's just not a good time for me…"

Elliot's lips pursed together in a low scowl, "Alright…" He nodded his head slightly. He rubbed his lips together, trying to hide the frustration that was visibly etched in to his features.

"I'm sorry Elliot," She whispered softly. "We can still be friends, y'know..."

Elliot rolled his eyes, "Yeah, ok… Audrey…"

Audrey bit her bottom lip a bit uneasy at how Elliot was handling this. She felt like she was trying to let down a guy in high school, rather than an adult, a man that was at least four to five years older than her.

He turned down a separate hallway and she ended up at the library, wondering what she had done to make Elliot so mad. Shaking her head she headed up to the second floor where detention was held.

"Sorry I'm late…" She mused looking at the librarian who didn't look amused at all. She forced a smile and passed the list of names over to her before getting up and heading back down the stairs.

Audrey made a face and looked down at the list, looking over the names, some were familiar and others weren't. Two names however tickled her fancy. She glanced up and saw them sitting a table away from each other, glaring.

"Good Afternoon everyone…" She grabbed everyone's attention, including _his_. She watched as a small grin formed on his lips, he sat smugly in his chair. "For those of you, who don't know who I am, my name is Miss Nolan and I'll be taking over detention for the rest of the year…"

She heard a few of the guys murmur things incoherently to each other. She went through the rules that were posted on her desk and smirked. She didn't think that students ever paid attention and she didn't mind.

She opened her bag and pulled out her papers, to begin grading them. Audrey was on a role when a body situated itself near her. She looked up to see Reid Garwin sitting casually on the edge of her desk.

"What are you doing Reid?" She asked him quietly.

"Just humor me for a minute," He tilted his head to the side.

Audrey narrowed her eyes at him, "And I should do this why?"

Reid grinned and glanced over his shoulder, lifting his chin to the boy he had been glaring at earlier. The brunette's eyes narrowed and Reid turned back to Audrey.

"Abbot's a prick, and I can't stand him…" Reid mused, leaning forward a bit. "He thinks he's God's gift to women…" A sly grin spread on Reid's shoulder as he glanced over his shoulder once more. "He bet me that I couldn't come over here and sweet talk you, that you'd tell me to go to hell or something equally as awful…"

"You haven't told anyone about…" She lowered her voice.

Reid smirked, "I'm blonde, but I'm not stupid, Audrey…"

She laughed and shook her head, "You can go sit down now…" She told him quietly.

The blonde nodded his head and sauntered back to his seat, sitting back coolly as he shot a look to the brunette. Audrey watched out of the corner of her eye as the brunette pulled out his wallet and handed over a fifty dollar bill.

She pursed her lips together and Reid gladly accepted it, shoving it in to his pocket.

The next forty-five minute went by easily. The kids were fairly good and kept themselves out of trouble by doing homework or talking to one another. Except for Reid who was hunched over his desk, staring.

She glanced at the time and smiled releasing the students from their one-hour hell session. She was putting her things away as the last of the students hurried down the stairs. Reid was hanging back, watching as Aaron fled the coop, not wanting to see the blonde rub it in anymore.

Reid made sure that everyone was gone before he walked over to her. He took a seat on the corner of the desk and he grinned at her.

"So, you're going to be doing the detention for the rest of the year?" He asked.

"Provost asked me himself," She nodded her head.

"I'll be sure to be a studious student and attend for the rest of the year…" He grinned slyly at her.

"Reid," She met his gaze.

"Audrey," His grin didn't falter. She was defeated. She stood up and slid on her coat; Reid stood up and grabbed her bags, "I'll walk you to your car,"

She pursed her lips together and nodded her head, not arguing.

She found that it was no use; all of the men in Ipswich were the same. They did not like rejection, and they were chivalrous, even if they were just doing it to get on your good side. They talked idly about class and what they were going to be doing next after Stephen King.

"Do you have any plans for this weekend?" He asked her carefully.

Audrey's lips twitched as she held open her door, "No…"

"I'd like to take you out…" His voice didn't carry that same tone is usually did. He sounded almost unsure of himself, which Audrey knew wasn't his normal persona.

"As friends?" She asked him.

Reid shook his head, "No…" He rested his hip against her car, "On a date…"

Audrey's lips pursed and she shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea," She whispered her breathing faltered, causing her to curse herself internally.

Reid rubbed his chin and licked his lips, "One date," He mused. "One date and if things don't go smoothly, or you feel weird or anything… then I won't bother you anymore…"

His offer sounded tempting, she would feel very weird being on a date with one of her students. She was be more worried about getting caught than feeling weird though, she made a face and Reid grinned.

"I'll take you somewhere that no one from Ipswich will even think of being…" He offered. "I promise you won't get caught,"

Sighing she looked away and then caught his blue gaze, "Fine, one date… an awkwardness or strange feelings and it's over…" She lifted a finger at him.

"You have my word…" He grinned at her before tapping her hood and stalking off towards the school.

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**You know, I don't have anything interesting to say. That's bad... I usually do... but I don't. That sucks. REVIEW, please... I like it when you do!**


	12. The Date

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**A/N:** This is kind of a long chapter, but that's ok. It didn't want to stop. I think you will ALL enjoy this chapter. I know I did. Also, I made a new banner/graphic thing for this story... as well as one for Babylon & Le Nouvel Espoir... check them out on my profile or on my homepage!

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**Chapter 12**

True to his word, so far, Reid had appeared in every detention for the rest of the week. Friday after detention he sat at her desk like he had every day that week and gave her that charming smile.

"What are you up to Mr. Garwin?" She questioned him, leaning back in her chair.

The blonde folded his arms over his chest and he shrugged his shoulders, "I guess you'll just have to find out, now wont' you Miss Nolan?"

He grabbed her bags when she stood up; Audrey shrugged her coat on the two descended down to the second floor and Audrey grabbed her things from him. She didn't want anyone thinking more than they should about the two of them.

"I'll call you when I'm on my way over…" His voice was low so that no one else could hear him. "Make sure you dress comfortably…"

"Jeans?" She asked.

"Would probably be best for our unconventional first date…" He murmured to her sweetly.

Audrey looked at him and couldn't help the smile on her lips. She gave him a wink before heading in the opposite direction he was. Reid watched her walk away, and bit down on his bottom lip. He was definitely going to show her a good time tonight, there was no way that this date was going to be awkward or weird.

He was sure of that.

He headed to his dorm finding Tyler sprawled out on his bed with two books and a plethora of papers around him. Sighing Reid fell on to his bed, letting his jacket and tie fall out of his hand.

"What's wrong?" Tyler questioned not bothering to look up from his homework.

Reid couldn't fight the smile on his lips, "Nothing, everything is perfect…"

"You don't seriously think that Miss Nolan is going to go out with you… and actually not feel weird about it?" Tyler propped himself up on his elbows, casting a glance at his best friend.

"And why wouldn't she?" Reid asked offended. "She had a good time when we went to the movies…"

"Because she's almost a decade older than you are, what could you possibly have in common?" Tyler snickered.

"We have a lot in common, Ty… I thought you were with me on this…"

"I am with you, but she seems to be brushing it off, I mean… c'mon… she barely looks at you anymore…"

"Are you that blind?" Reid smirked one hand behind his head, the other resting on his stomach. "She's only doing that because she doesn't want to draw attention to us, that's all…"

Tyler rolled his eyes, "Sure, that's what they all say… you're starting to sound a bit obsessed…"

"I can't help it…"

"Why don't you just give up on it, nothings going to come of it…"

Reid sat up and stared at his best friend like he had just told him the most absurd thing, "I like her," Reid paused and glanced around. "A lot,"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah man, and I know she's interested too…" The blonde pursed his lips together. "She's just afraid of getting in trouble.."

"And she could you know," Tyler offered. "She could get in to a lot of trouble if she's caught with you doing… things…."

"We won't get caught, and if we do… I can get us out of anything…" Reid gave him a smirk.

"But Reid…"

Reid held up his hand, "Discussion over… I've got to get ready for my date…"

Audrey looked at the shirt in her hands and turned her nose up at it, tossing it over her shoulder. Finding something to wear for a date was a lot harder than she thought. With Elliot she had no problems, but for some reason she wasn't happy with anything in her closet for her date with Reid.

"Just pick something out Aud…" She told herself out loud. "It's not like you're meeting his parents…"

She froze in her spot. The words that came out of her mouth were Earth shaking. What would she do if she had to meet Reid's parents? How would they react knowing their son was dating someone older; and not just older one of his teachers?

_Oh God_, she thought to herself. She didn't know if she could handle something like that.

Shaking her head she challenged herself, "It's not like you're marrying the guy…"

Audrey wasn't usually the type of girl who sat around and pondered finally getting married and having her 'dream' wedding, but she wouldn't lie and say she had never thought about it. And recently since meeting Reid, and having him after her… she had dreamt once or twice about the blonde boy in a black tuxedo, marrying her.

"Don't think like that," She slammed her hands down on to the carpeted floor. "You're only going to make this weirder for yourself,"

Maybe that's what she was trying to do. Maybe she was trying to come up with ways to make herself feel awkward so that she wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. She wouldn't have to constantly fight with her conscience which seemed rearing and ready to play with the eighteen year-old.

Was that her subconscious game plan? To make it seem like it was weird for her. Could she play it off to convince Reid that it wouldn't work out so she wouldn't have to worry about losing her job? Could she convince herself of that?

Sighing she found a cute long sleeve shirt and slipped it over her head. It was grey and white striped with V-neck. Hearing her phone ring she raced in to the living room in just the shirt and white boy-shorts on.

"Hello?" She answered breathlessly in to the phone.

"If that's how you answer the phone when I call, I'm calling you more often…" His tone was playful and she couldn't fight the smile on her lips.

"Hey Reid," She took a deep breath.

"I'm coming up the steps now…"

Audrey's eyes grew wide as she looked down at herself and mumbled something under her breath, "Ok, give me a second… I'll be right there…" She mused racing back in to her bedroom after hanging up and searching for something to cover her lower half with.

She settled for her favorite pair of black jeans and slipped on her black knee-length boots underneath. She raced back to the front of the house and opened the door.

Reid leaned coolly against the doorframe and smirked at her, "How'd you know which one was mine?" She asked tilting her head to the side.

"I've got connections," He glanced over his shoulder to look at Pogue's door.

She smiled and waved him in, "Sorry I couldn't find anything to wear…" She muttered looking down at her excuse of an outfit.

Reid smiled actually liking what he saw. The neckline of the shirt was low, showing off the ample breasts that hid under the shirt, it clung to her in the right places showing off the curves of her body, and more importantly her impossibly nice backside in the black jeans.

"You look great," He offered closing the door behind him.

"Thanks," She was a bit nervous, but who wouldn't be on their first and _maybe_ even her last date.

"C'mon… lets get out of here…" He gave her a charming grin.

Audrey took a deep breath holding up a finger to rush in to her bedroom to find her jacket. She found her favorite black jacket and slipped it on over her shoulders. She instinctively grabbed her purse and keys and headed back in to the living room.

Reid was looking around, his hands shoved deep in his pockets, his blonde head tilted up slightly inspecting the artwork on the walls of the apartment. She watched a small grin dance on his handsome face; she didn't want to interrupt him so she leaned against the wall quietly.

There was no doubt in her mind that he was absolutely gorgeous, he didn't look his age that was for sure. From her angle she could see his perfect profile; his blonde hair was combed forward hanging in those beautiful cerulean orbs. His nose turned up slightly at the end in the most significant way, she found herself enthralled with his handsome face. She watched his eyes narrow as he stepped closer to the painting, his jaw setting, the muscles in his jaw tightening and doing something to Audrey she didn't know was possible.

She took a deep breath, which caught his attention.

"Ready?" He asked an almost cheerful grin on his face.

"Yeah," She let out the breath and smiled.

Reid stuck out his hand to her and she gladly accepted leaving her apartment. He pulled out a set of keys from his pocket informing her without words that he intended to drive. Not bothering to argue she let him walk her to the passenger's side of the black Hummer.

"Where are we going?" She asked him carefully as he slid in next to her.

"You'll find out soon enough," He gave her a charming grin and started the large vehicle.

Audrey gave him an apprehensive look but it subsided as soon as he turned on the radio and the timeless sound of the Beatles engulfed the car. She rested easier in the leather seats and didn't mind the view of seeing Reid sing along to some of her favorite songs, casually casting glances in her direction.

"Awkward yet?" He asked her with his pale eyebrow lifted in wonder.

She shook her head sheepishly, "No… not in the slightest…"

"Good," He definitely looked pleased.

The ride was longer than she expected, she glanced for the nearest road sign and it pointed that they were on their way to Salem. Her brow furrowed she gave him a perplexed look.

"Why are we going to Salem?" She asked.

"I'm not telling you yet," He mused with a delighted grin.

Audrey gave a pout, crossing her hands over her chest acting as though she were a young child not getting what she wanted. Reid couldn't help but smile. He reached over and pulled her hand in to his.

"Trust me, you're going to enjoy yourself…"

His words were tempting, she had to give him that. She sat tight until they pulled up to what appeared to be a large County Fair, which was just outside of Salem's city limits. Reid parked the car and peered out of the window shield.

"A fair?" She asked with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

Reid nodded opening the door; he rushed around to her side opening her door for her, "C'mon…" He licked his lips and grabbed her hand.

Audrey couldn't fight the smile on her lips, she held on to his hand tightly and he dished out the money for their entrance and their wristbands to ride all of the rides they could. Audrey looked around, she didn't see any familiar faces, but for some reason she felt like everyone was looking at them.

Scrutinizing them for being there; together. A teacher and her student on a date. The thought was lurking her, but she was soon pulled out of it when his velvety voice pulled her to reality. He was pointing to the Scrambler and she nodded her head vigorously, she couldn't remember the last time she had been to a fair.

After a few rides she was dragging him around, and Reid didn't mind. If she was dragging him around she was having a good time, and she wasn't worried about people seeing them together and she wasn't uncomfortable, or weirded out.

She pulled him towards the game, and looked around, "Do you wanna play?" She asked.

A small grin spread across Reid's face, "Do you even have to ask?" He grinned putting his arm around her waist comfortably ushering her towards the tents of games.

Audrey couldn't believe how normal it felt to have that tattooed arm around her, as if were the most natural thing in the world for them. She linked her arm around his waist in return; laughing as he told her he was going to kick her butt.

They bantered as they competed at just about every game they came across. Reid shocked her by winning most of them, that was until they waltzed over to the basketball hoops. Audrey put her stuffed animals down that Reid had graciously won for her and pulled out her wallet from her purse.

"C'mon Garwin, I'll play you…" She lifted her chin up at the hoops.

Reid winced and held a hand to his chest, "I'm afraid I might actually lose this time…" He murmured.

Audrey grinned and held up two fingers to the guy behind the wall, she handed him some money and he handed them both basketballs. Reid made an unattractive face and Audrey laughed at him.

"Basketball isn't your sport?" She asked effortlessly tossing the ball towards the hoop and getting it in.

Reid took a shot, and it bounced off of the backboard, rejecting him, "I don't like it… I'm not good with rejection…" He admitted, casting her a glance as they both were handed the ball back. "But, I'm very persistent…"

He took another shot and it actually went in. Audrey blushed and took another shot, sinking her second shot with ease. The man running the booth smirked and tossed the balls back to them.

"I've noticed…" She chewed at her bottom lip and glanced over at him as he took his next shot, and failed miserably. "Can I ask you something?" She asked jumping as she took her third shot.

Reid watched her stance and grinned, she looked absolutely adorable when she shot her basket. He shrugged his shoulders, "You can ask me anything…"

"Alright," She licked her lips and held the basketball under her arm, turning to look at him as he bounced his, those cerulean blue eyes on her. "Why did you decide you wanted to go out with me?"

Reid's eyebrows shot up in interest and he took a step towards her, "Truthfully?" He asked her.

She laughed and rolled her eyes, "No, I want you to lie to me… of course truthfully…"

Reid nodded his head and bounced the ball again.

"At first it was because well… Audrey you're hot…" He pointed out to her. Audrey blushed and looked away shyly. "Really, hot…" He continued. "But then I don't know… after we had coffee the first time… I just couldn't help myself…"

"Because we both liked Stephen King and the Beatles?" She asked unsure of his answer. "I mean there are plenty of people out there that like those two things… I'm not the only one…"

Reid laughed and shook his head tossing the ball over his shoulder, "No, you're just amazing… you know that?"

"Me?" She asked modestly.

"Yeah, you're just cool to hang out with. You don't judge me, you don't have an expectations… and I just find that absolutely enchanting…"

He was standing right in front of her now, his hands grasping on her hips; her hands still grasping the basketball in her grip. She felt her hear beat rapidly, as if it were going to pound out of her chest. She couldn't stand it.

"Reid," There she goes again, saying his name so breathlessly, like some love-struck teenager. He smiled brushing his hand over her cheek, her tanned skin cold to the touch, but beginning to warm as the blush crept up on her.

He shook his head, "I don't want to hear you say that this isn't right…" His lips were just inches away from hers. "Because it is right, I can tell you that,"

"How?" She searched his eyes for an answer.

Reid's head hung, a sigh escaping those evenly parted lips, "You overanalyze everything, do you realize that?"

She blushed and looked away again, "Yeah, I do have a tendency of doing that…"

Reid laughed and looked over her shoulder, he reached down to grab her stuffed animals and wrapped his free arm around her waist, "I've got an idea," He grinned.

Not sure what he had in mind, Audrey followed him. She was enjoying herself too much not to. Reid pointed to a large structure and Audrey's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked carefully pulling her in line with him.

"I can't do that…" She pointed up to the large ride.

Reid laughed, "Don't tell me you're afraid of heights…" Audrey stared at him, her brow lifted and he shook his head, "You're afraid of heights?"

"Yes,"

"I'll be right there next to you, nothing is going to happen…"

"I never said it would, I just don't like… being that high up in the air…"

"It's safe," He promised her. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you…"

Audrey chewed on her bottom lip and shook her head, "I don't know Reid… I really hate heights…"

Reid's arm dropped from her waist and he grabbed her hand squeezing it tightly, "C'mon… for me?"

Audrey looked up at him, her bottom lip pulled tightly between her teeth; she saw the look in his eyes and shook her head. She really hated heights, they just never agreed with her or her stomach.

"Fine, but don't blame me if my stomach completely ruins our date…" She muttered giving in to those charming eyes.

A smile tugged at Reid's mouth hearing her call their outing a date. Which it was, but he wasn't sure if she would acknowledge it as such. Happy with himself he gripped her hand a bit tighter, pulling her close to his body as the wind blew.

Audrey's eyes grew seeing the little carts on the Ferris wheel swing back and forth. She let out a bemused noise and dug her face in to Reid's jacket clad arm. A small chuckle escaped his lips as they headed towards the front of the line.

He slid the stuffed animals in to one side of the cart; he pulled Audrey in to the other, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She scooted as close to him as she possibly could.

Reid felt her grasp on him tighten as the Ferris wheel started to move, bringing them up higher and higher. He used his free hand to lift her chin from his shoulder; shaking his head he watched her fearful eyes ease a bit.

"You don't have to be scared," His voice was like velvet, smooth and sensual.

"I can't get my mind off the fact that we're hundreds of feet in the air…" She mused dumbly.

Reid smirked, "I can think of something that might get your mind off of it," He didn't give her time to think about it.

Audrey was surprised to find that his lips were as soft and smooth as his voice was. He didn't kiss her roughly; it was soft and subtle at first. She felt her heart beating quicken, his free hand gliding from her chin down her shoulder, past her breasts to her waist.

His tongue darted out slowly tracing her bottom lip; obliging him she parted her lips, welcoming him to deepen their forbidden kiss. Her fingers wound in to his luscious blonde hair pulling him impossibly closer to him, making the cart swing just a bit more, but she didn't care.

She couldn't think clearly, she didn't know where she was. All she knew was that she didn't want to pull away from the pure heaven she felt when his lips touched hers. His hands found her cheeks again, stroking them gently with his thumbs he pulled away.

Taking a deep breath she opened her eyes, her vision feeling hazy as he gave her a crooked smile. She had never been kissed like that before, there was so much subtle hunger behind it that she couldn't imagine kissing someone else after this and having it feel just as good as it did to kiss him.

"Thinking about how high we are now?" He asked that arrogant tone returning to his voice.

Audrey blushed and shook her head, "Definitely not my first thought," She swallowed hard, trying to fight the thoughts that were coming to her mind.

They involved her, the blonde in front of her, very little clothes and her bedroom.

But she couldn't be thinking like that, not on the first date. She wasn't normally that kind of girl. She watched him carefully, he toyed with her hair absentmindedly with one hand and the other sat on her thigh now, the heat from his hand causing her insides to twist and knot unnaturally.

"Mmm, sometimes I wish I was a mind reader," He cocked his head to the side. "I have a feeling you'd be blushing a helluva lot more…"

Audrey's lips pressed together and she shook her head, "You're terrible…"

"That's what they tell me," He grinned.

She glanced around and found that they were getting lower to the ground; her heartbeat was just starting to even out. Her hand rested on top of his and she leaned forward, unexpectedly placing another kiss on his pink lips.

She pulled away first this time and smiled at him, Reid squeezed her thigh and leaned in closely to her, "I like you,"

He tilted his head to the side waiting for her reaction, or her response. Her light brown gaze shifted from him and to the side. Taking a deep breath she held his steady gaze.

Nerves began to rack her like the plague, her stomach twisting, and her palms sweating. No guy in her past had ever done this to her. Had never caused these effects.

"I like you, too…" She whispered softly to him.

* * *

**So the cats out of the bag. Which is great. Things will start to kick in to gear in the next couple of chapters, so I can't wait to get those typed and out... woohoo... I'm excited... are you?**


	13. Lilies, Roses & Irises

**A/N: **This chapter ended up longer than I expected, but what can you do? They write themselves!

* * *

**Chapter 13**

The rest of the weekend went by slowly, Reid had called her the next day and they talked for awhile before Tyler dragged him out to Nicky's for a couple of burgers and a round of pool. She didn't mind though since she had a lot of things to do before the next week of school started.

Sometimes being a teacher left little time for fun, especially when you were trying to teach from someone else's curriculum. She sat Indian style on her floor a cup of coffee in hand, half watching old re-runs of 'I Love Lucy' and going through Professor Walden's notes and the text book.

It was Sunday and she was barely ready for tomorrow. She heard her phone ringing and leaned back absentmindedly searching for the phone. She found it and answered.

"Elliot?" She was surprised to hear his voice on the other line.

"I was hoping that maybe we could go out tonight, grab a bite to eat?" His voice flooded her phone and she was a bit taken back by his phone call. Hadn't he gotten the picture? She didn't want to date him!

"Actually, I've got a lot of work to do, I got a late start this weekend, sorry…" She mused letting her finger circle the rim of her coffee cup.

She heard a low knock on her front door and her eyebrow shot up in question, "You sure you don't want to sneak away for a few hours, just to relax?" He asked.

"No, I can't really… I've got too much to do, sorry…" She apologized getting up slowly to answer the door as the knocking happened again.

"Last chance," He murmured in to the phone.

Audrey peered in to the peep-hole and felt relieved seeing the person on the other side wasn't the person on the other line. She muttered something unintelligible in to the phone hoping that Elliot got the message and hung up.

She hurriedly unlatched her door and opened it, a small smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"I know I should have called but… I was in the neighborhood…" He shoved his thumb over his shoulder and she smiled stepping aside so he could get in.

"No, it's ok… c'mon in…"

Audrey closed the door behind him and smiled, looking down at herself she wanted to die. She looked like a far cry from what a guy like Reid Garwin would like right about now. She was bumming around her apartment in a pair of grey yoga pants and an oversized Spenser t-shirt.

"You don't mind?" He asked his finger wagging at the sofa.

"Of course not," She smiled sitting down next to the handsome blonde, tucking her legs under her. "I'm sorry I look like a rag-a-muffin…" She laughed a bit plucking at her old t-shirt. "I wasn't expecting company…"

Reid shook his head, "Don't apologize…" He reached over and tucked a piece of her dark hair behind her ear. "You look adorable…"

She shook her head and smiled.

"Do you want some coffee?" She asked pointing to her mug.

"Sure, that sounds great…"

"Black?" She asked him entering the kitchen.

"Perfect,"

Audrey busied herself with making his coffee, trying to calm her nerves, she really hadn't expected things to go the way they did this weekend. She was expecting her to be completely weirded out by the date and not have to worry about this kind of stuff.

She grabbed his mug and walked in to the living room watching him watch her. She handed the cup to him, picking up her own before she sat back down, this time just a little bit closer to him.

"Did I interrupt you?" He asked pointing to the papers on the coffee table.

"More or less, I wasn't getting much done…" She mused with a grin. "Couldn't concentrate,"

The blonde grinned inwardly and took a sip of his coffee, "So, Miss Nolan…" He set his cup down, taking hers from her tight grip and pulling her closer to his body. "I was thinking…"

"That's never a good thing," She joked getting comfortable with his arms around her.

"Oh the teacher has jokes?" He grinned playfully poking her in the side.

"The teacher has a lot of jokes,"

Reid pressed his lips to her cheek and shook his head, "Anyway, I was thinking that we could go out to dinner Wednesday…"

Audrey pursed her lips together and thought about her schedule, she grabbed her day planner and looked at Wednesday. She shook her head, "I've got a parent teacher conference Wednesday after detention…" She pointed.

"We could do it after?" He proposed.

Audrey bit her bottom lip and shook her head, "I don't want to be out too late," She looked up at him to see his disappointed stare.

"Ok, how about Thursday?"

"PTA meeting, 7:30…" She pointed to her schedule.

Reid sighed, and Audrey looked at him and then back at her schedule. She smiled and grabbed her pencil; she wrote something under Wednesday and moved her hands so that Reid could see what she had written.

"Homemade dinner, huh?" He asked, she could hear the grin in his voice without looking at him. "I haven't had one of those in a long time…"

"That'll be ok, right?" She asked him carefully.

"Perfect,"

He liked how it felt to have her in his arms, not worrying if anyone was looking at them oddly. A woman in her twenties canoodling with a teenage boy, Audrey pulled out of his grasp and leaned forward for her coffee, taking a sip as she pressed herself in to the cushions.

"So, were you really over at Pogue's or were you just using that as a line?" She asked out of the blue.

Reid turned in his seat and lift one of his pale eyebrows up at her in question, "Do I look like the kind of person that would just use that as a line?" He questioned his tone playful.

Audrey leaned forward, her eyes trained on him, she looked down at his lips for a second, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

The blonde smirked, leaning in further, "I'd rather you kiss me…"

Audrey smiled slightly before she pressed her lips to his. She leaned forward a bit to place her cup down on the coffee table, freeing her hands to roam over his body. She twisted her fingers in to his hair with one hand, and pulled him intimately close with the other.

Reid leaned forward, his weight making her lay back in to the cushions of the couch. His large hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer to him. Audrey gasped for air when his lips removed from hers and slowly kissed her jaw line and her exposed neck. The blonde leaned over her body, one hand in her hair the other holding up his body, his lips moved back up to her jaw line and she grabbed his chin in her grasp and forced her lips on his again.

The younger boy didn't object, he matched her rhythm perfectly, letting his free hand release her hair, scaling down her arm and resting at her hip, his fingers playing with the hem of her shirt, slowly going under and toying with the tanned skin on her now exposed hip.

Audrey sat up, not bothering to remove her lips from his and slowed down their increasing pace. Placing her open palms on his chest she pushed him away slowly, her gaze hazed over by lust. She caught her breath and smiled at him, placing an innocent kiss on his pink lips.

"What's wrong?" He asked carefully.

"Nothing," She shook her head. "Nothing's wrong…" She smiled brushing his blonde hair out of his eyes.

He gave her a look of contempt and she smiled, pulling herself up to place another kiss on his lips, "I just think we need to take is a little slower, that's all…"

Reid settled back in to his seat, a look of rejection etched across his features. Audrey adjusted herself so that she was sitting on her knees right next to him.

She pulled his face in to her hands and smiled, kissing him slowly and softly.

"I don't want to ruin this, ok?" She grinned. "Not by doing_ this_ right away, we just started dating…"

Reid's eyes perked up at the sound of this, "Dating?"

She pursed her lips together, her fingers running through his amazingly soft blonde hair, "That's what this is, right?" She asked wagging her finger between the two of them. "Le me know if I'm on the wrong page here…" She informed him, she went to scoot away.

Reid caught her wrists in his much larger hands and pulled her back, closer, against him. He tilted his head just slightly, getting a better view of her face, "That's exactly what this is…" He grinned pressing his lips firmly to hers.

"Good," She grinned. Being his teacher the farthest thing from her mind; that was until she thought exactly that. She bit her bottom lip and eyed him, "We have to be really careful though, Reid…"

He nodded his head, "I know, I wouldn't get you in trouble, Aud…" He promised.

"I know…" She pursed her lips. "I'm just thinking about your friends though, I like them they're great… but what are they going to think?"

"They're cool with it… they're just worried about you getting in trouble, which trust me, won't happen… ok?"

She read his face and he was sure of himself, which made her feel a little bit better. Reid lifted his hand and motioned to all the paperwork spread out across the table.

"What's all this?"

"You're game plan for the next few weeks…" She scrunched her nose up. "Professor Walden was so boring; I had to liven up his curriculum a little bit."

"I could think of a few ways to do that…" Reid leaned in his mouth pressed firmly against her shoulder.

"You're bad… really bad…." She pointed her finger at him.

"I told you, I'm up for spanking…" He grinned.

She shoved him and laughed slipping down to the floor to look at the mess that she had made of the paperwork. Reid slipped off of the couch next to her and she scrunched her nose up in distaste of the mess.

She heard him laughing and cocked her head to the side to see what he was laughing at. His eyes were trained on her and she furrowed her brow, he was laughing at her.

"Why are you laughing at me, Reid Garwin?" She asked confused.

"Because you're impossibly adorable…" He grinned pulling her in to his arms.

He placed those heavenly lips on hers, catching her breath in her throat. She found it impossible to think of anything else when he was kissing her. Absolutely impossible.

She pulled away her eyes still closed,"I'm not going to get any work done, am I?" it was just a murmur but Reid knew exactly what she said.

"That's the plan…" He grinned wickedly at her.

"Ah, so the friends are paying you off to be here tonight, aren't they?" She asked her voice full of humor. "They want you to distract me from my curriculum so that I won't be able to give you any work? Is that it?"

Reid grinned, "Maybe,"

She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder, "This is strange," She mused out loud.

She felt him stiffen under her and she raised her head to look at his confused look, "What is?" He asked as calmly as possible.

"How comfortable I am with you," She gave him a small smile. "Normally, I wouldn't allow a guy to be here this late at night, on a school night, kissing me and holding me like this… it just isn't normal for me…"

"Normal is highly overrated…" He commented a grin on his face. "I thought you were going to go down _that_ road again…"

She shook her head pressing her lips to his cheek, "That ship has sailed, I'm in over my head already… abandon ship and all…"

Reid laughed, and Audrey couldn't help but join him. He hung out for awhile more, but realized that it was getting late. He stood up and Audrey followed him. He slipped in to his coat and grabbed his keys from the coffee table.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked with a sly grin on his face.

"You know you will," Audrey responded.

"Good, you're not going to run away?"

Licking her lips she shook her head, "Not a chance in the world…"

His grin widened and he leaned in stealing a kiss from her before he opened the door, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Miss Nolan…"

She flushed and waved as he disappeared down the stairs. She waited a few seconds before closing the door and leaning against it. She could feel her heart beating wildly out of her chest.

She had thrown all of her inhibitions to the wind with this one. Audrey was shaken by the thought, she never thought she would be one of _those_ teachers. Ever. She tried to remind herself that Reid was a man, he was eighteen years old, and he was graduating in a few months, she could do this.

She had to.

Or else she'd get caught.

She couldn't get caught. She knew that. It would be the end of her career, and put more shame on her family name than there already was. She groaned at the thought of this. She was going to have to work extra hard to keep this under wraps.

Monday morning came far too quickly for her. She felt like she hadn't even been asleep for a few hours when her alarm clock started to violently scream and vibrate on her nightstand. She felt like a zombie, but didn't let it show when she entered class that morning.

As the bell rang all of her students filtered in, she couldn't fight her urge to look up and meet his gaze. He was sitting like he normally did. His arms resting on the desk, and his chin resting on top of his hands, and his eyes fixated on her.

She smiled and went to shut the door when a man with a bouquet of flowers stopped her, "Are you Miss Audrey Nolan?" He asked carefully.

Audrey looked back at the class, her eyes on Reid for a second and then back to the man, "Uh, yes… I am…" She forced a smile and the man handed her the bouquet.

"Could you sign here please?" He thrusted a piece of paper to her.

Audrey quickly scribbled her name and closed the door. She looked at the flowers in her hands and then made a face to the class before setting them down in the corner. She looked up and noticed, Caleb and Pogue staring over at Reid who looked bewildered.

She quickly assigned their work for the day and took a seat at her desk, hoping to avoid his gaze. She glanced up once during the class and caught his eye. He was staring straight ahead, the paper in front of him untouched. What startled her most of all was the look in those cerulean blue eyes.

She could see that the question itched at his tongue, she knew the second she looked at him that he was not the one who sent her the flowers. They were gorgeous though, one of her favorites.

She managed to make it through class, only glancing at the flowers a half a dozen times, confused as to who sent them, with no note, and why. More importantly she wanted to question Reid, make sure that he did not send them, because that would be toying with their secrecy.

The bell rang dismissing their class and she slumped in her chair, feeling like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Everyone had filtered out, everyone except for the blonde boy who was slowly making his way down the steps. He leaned against her desk and let his long fingers scale over the petals of the flower.

"No card?" He asked, his jaw set tightly.

"No," She shook her head, her eyes darting up to meet his. "You didn't send them?"

"I told you before Audrey, I'm blonde; not stupid…" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is ridiculous…"

She put her hand on top of his and glanced at the door, "It's no big deal,"

"It is," He pointed out angrily standing up from his desk. "I'll find out who it was, don't worry…"

Before she could object he left the classroom in a heated huff. Audrey sighed and sank deeper in to her chair staring at the stargazer lilies that perched at the end of her desk.

The rest of the day slipped away from her, she couldn't focus on much of anything, she was more worried about where the flowers came from and why they didn't have a note or anything helping her figure out whom it was.

It irritated her to no end that she had no idea who had bought her such a bouquet of flowers, she toted them with her to detention. She knew better than to question whether Reid would be there or not, he was.

His jaw clenched tightly at the sight of the pink flowers. He sat at his normal table, feet propped up as several stragglers made it up to the second floor. She crossed off their names and waited doing as much paperwork to busy herself as she possibly could.

When she glanced up again, the hour was over and she dismissed her students. All but one left, she wasn't sure what to say to him. She hoped that maybe he found out who sent them to her, but she was afraid he would do so and end up causing her more trouble.

"Any luck?" She asked shoving her things in to her bag.

"No, but I have a pretty damn good idea who it was…"

"Who?" Audrey asked her brows furrowed together.

"Elliot…"

"Professor DeRosa?" She asked. "But why would he?"

"He's a creep, that's why…" He leaned down and looked at her.

"I'll ask him about it tomorrow," She pursed her lips together. "I've got to go, I'm having dinner with my sister and her husband tonight, I'll talk to you later?"

Reid glanced around and grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the ledge of the second floor, far enough away so that no one could see them if they glanced up. He pulled her flush against him and pressed his lips to hers.

As soon as it happened she pulled away, "Reid…" She hissed lowly. "You can't do this here…"

That smirk landed on his lips and she shook her head, "I'll call you tonight,"

"You're a nuisance…" She pointed her finger to him, hoping that no one would get the wrong idea of them together. She grabbed her things and headed down the stores, but not before casting a glance over her shoulder at him.

He winked at her and leaned against one of the tables, waiting for her to disappear from sight.

Tuesday came before she was ready, and just as she was closing the door she noticed someone walking down the hall, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. She felt her stomach churn uneasily and remembered the conversation she had with Reid last night.

He told her that he wasn't going to rest until he found out who sent her the flowers. She felt her heartbeat quicken as the man stopped in front of her.

"Miss Audrey Nolan?"

Audrey let a low sigh escape her lips as she signed for the flowers and brought the small vase of extravagant yellow roses and Irises in to the room. The entire class oohed except for a handful of people. The handful consisted of Reid Garwin, Caleb Danvers, Pogue Parry, Kate Tunney and Sarah Wenham.

"Now, now…" She shook her head playing it off. "Get back to your worksheets," She gave them a false grin.

Reid could see that. It was forced; he didn't like to see her like that. He sat up in his seat, his gloved hands clenching the desk, knuckles turning white in the process. He noticed a card sticking out of the arrangement and lifted his chin to Audrey who was looking up in his general direction.

She looked down and noticed the card. She surveyed the room; the only person watching her was Reid. She sat down in her chair and flipped the card open, reading the contents.

_Yellow roses for jealousy, yellow irises for passion._

It wasn't signed, no clue as to who sent it. She felt irked by the message and tossed it to the side, trying to focus on the work in front of her, but it was impossible, especially with those pale blue eyes staring down at her.

She fought through the rest of class, shifting uncomfortably as she waited for the bell to ring. She felt a wave of relief when it did; though she knew she was going to have to keep Reid as calm as possible, so that he didn't fly off the hinges.

All of the bodies filtered out, but one remained. He sat unresponsive in his chair, staring at her like he had the entire class period. She cleared her throat and he swiftly pulled himself out of his seat and descended the stairs without breaking a sweat.

He snatched the note off of her desk and read it. His hand fell limply at his side, crumbling the message in his long, slender fingers.

"It has to be him," Reid dictated.

"Don't jump to conclusions…" She whispered, looking at the door. "I'll go talk to him at lunch, ok… just relax and don't worry about it…"

Reid snorted, "Easy for you to say, you're girlfriend isn't receiving mysterious gifts from men that aren't you…"

His words were low enough so that only she could hear. She gave him a pointed look and he exited the room before any of her second period students could enter. She stared at the arrangement and felt her breath get caught in her throat.

She had a feeling that Elliot was behind this. She didn't know why, but she knew it deep down. She stared at the flowers and wondered if he knew about Reid? If he had caught on to their little charade and if he was going to use that information against her.

The thought frightened her, not only could her career be at stake, but what if Elliot ended up threatening Reid? What if he hurt Reid?

She couldn't bear to live with herself if her rejection cause Reid harm. She swallowed hard and moved the arrangement from the corner of her desk to next to her seat; she didn't want to have to look at them for the rest of the day. It was already becoming a distraction for not only her, but her students.

* * *

**Things are starting to just get a little bit creepy... hopefully its coming off that way. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I will try to keep you guys from waiting. BUT -- just so you guys know, we do have another Tropical Storm headed for us, that could turn in to a hurricane... so if you want me to live and my computers too... pray that Hanna decides to leave Northern Florida alone! :)**

_On a side note... I just finished Eclipse yesterday and I have to say I'm in love. Yes, I love the Twilight series now, I have fallen in to the damper with the others. It's impossible not too... and Jacob Black... my god... Seriously. I'm with Stephenie Meyers that Steven Strait would make the perfect Jacob... I even have an idea for a Jacob/OC fic... maybe! :)  
_


	14. Difficult

**A/N: **I almost skipped this chapter, but I figured I'd post it up anyway... I just really liked the Audrey/Reid moment at the end... which made it a must have. At least to me! :)

* * *

**Chapter 14**

The day seemed to slip past her slowly, like the grains of sand in an hour glass. Lunch caught up with her and she found herself on the hunt. She was looking for the Calculus teacher, and she told herself she wasn't going to settle until she found him.

"Have you seen Elliot?" She asked the Chorus instructor as she weaved in and out of the Teacher's Lounge.

"I think I saw him head out to his car," She instructed her finger pointed to the door.

Audrey rolled her brown eyes; she hurried out of the room and took off down the filtering hallway full of students. She caught sight of Elliot getting in to his large SUV, which looked strikingly familiar. She brushed it off, knowing that she had gone out with him and seen his truck before.

"Elliot," She called his name and he looked up, those deep set brown eyes smirked up at her. As if he knew she would be running after him. "Elliot, wait a second…"

He wrapped the scarf around his neck, cocked his head to the side and waited for her to meet up with him at his car. She caught her breath and she gasped, not caring that she probably looked like an absolute idiot.

"Yes, Audrey?" He gave her a charming grin.

"I have to ask you something," She breathed heavily her cheeks flushed from running.

"Dinner, tomorrow night? 7:30?" He asked his eyes not leaving hers.

"No," She shook her head and clutched her jacket tighter around her body. "I need to know if it's you… are you sending me these flowers?"

He gave her a smug look, though his eyes didn't give him away. She couldn't read his features, her accusations fading as he lifted his chin.

"You're receiving flowers?" He questioned, his brow furrowed.

"Yes, one arrangement yesterday and one today…" She mused staring up at him confused. She had been so sure it was him, but was it?

"Didn't they have a card saying who they're from?" He continued to play along, coasting easily.

"Yesterday, no. Today… yeah… but it wasn't helpful…"

"Maybe it's one of your students, they just want to remain anonymous…" He lifted an eyebrow. "Mr. Garwin seems to have a fascination with you," His lips pursed together. "Maybe it's him…"

"I doubt it," Audrey shook her head.

"Why would you say that?"

"Reid is the kind of guy that boasts about these kinds of things, he wouldn't remain anonymous…" She shook her head. "I used to know a lot of guys like that…"

He lifted his eyebrow, "What did the last note say?"

"Ummm…" She racked her brain. "Yellow roses for jealousy, yellow irises for passion…"

Elliot grinned and ran a hand through his short brown hair, "Sounds like you have an admirer… maybe they're jealous that they can't have you… maybe they're jealous that someone already does…" He shrugged his shoulders. "So, how about that dinner tomorrow night?"

She shook her head, "I can't… I have plans…" She inspected his face and she couldn't read him. Not in the slightest.

He shook his head, "Too bad…"

Without another word he climbed in to the large vehicle and took off. Audrey watched him pull out still dumbfounded as to who could have sent the flowers to her. It couldn't be Reid, but was there someone else that she had overlooked?

She shook her head, it wasn't possible.

She pulled out her phone and sent Reid a text message, heading back in to the Teacher's Lounge.

* * *

Reid slapped his best friend on the back as he settled in to the cafeteria. He was trying to get the flowers and the note out of his head, and hoped that Audrey would tell Elliot where he could stick the arrangements.

He popped a fry in to his mouth and Tyler snickered, "You're like a lovesick puppy, it's entertaining…" Tyler mocked him.

He shook his head, it wasn't everyday that he let his best friend get away with mocking him, but he didn't care. He was content with himself right now, even more content that he was dating Audrey Nolan.

"Mock me all you want Baby Boy, you're just jealous…"

As soon as the words left his mouth Reid's face fell. Jealous, _yellow roses for jealousy_. Was it possible that Elliot DeRosa wasn't the person sending the flowers; could it possibly be Tyler… or one of his other friends?

He looked around the table, seeing the same faces he saw everyday, nothing different about them. No one looked like they were holding a grudge, except for maybe Caleb, but he always looked like that.

He felt his pocket vibrating and sighed shoving his hand in and pulling out the annoying piece of technology. His face softened seeing that he had a new text message from Audrey. His fingers darted out to press the view button and he was sobered by the words staring back at him.

_I don't think its Elliot._

They both had been almost positive that Elliot DeRosa was the person behind the flowers. He glanced around the table again and leaned forward.

"Guys," Caleb, Pogue and Tyler all turned to look at him. "None of you guys sent Audrey the flowers, did you?"

Caleb glanced from Pogue to Tyler and shook his head. Of course he wouldn't, Golden Boy wouldn't dream of crossing the same line that Reid had. He wouldn't dare think of dating a teacher, no matter how intensely attractive she is.

Pogue pursed his lips together, holding in his laughter, "And have to deal with you or Kate, please… I would rather chew off my own arm…"

I knew that was true, Kate had Pogue on a short, restricted leash. He didn't eat, drink or pee with out her telling him to do so. Or at least it felt that way.

The blonde's gaze fell on his best friend who looked shocked by the question, which made Reid nervous. Could he be wrong about his best friend? Could his best friend be capable of such a thing?

Could that be the reason behind Tyler trying to keep Reid from going out with Audrey in the first place, because he was jealous? Because he wanted to be the one to go out with her?

"Reid, c'mon… you can't be serious…" Tyler mustered up shaking his head. "Look, I'll admit that Audrey is good looking, but I've got Claire and I'm happy with her…" He reminded the blonde Son.

Reid calmed himself down taking a few deep breaths and let his gaze fall over the rest of the cafeteria. Who else could it possible be? Who had the guts to send a teacher flowers, two days in a row, with an awkward note.

Reid swallowed hard; he was going to find the coward.

* * *

Audrey moped in to her classroom; this was the third night in a row that she had barely slept a wink. She couldn't shake the awful dreams and even worse the frightening feeling that crept over her when she woke up.

She found Reid sitting on her desk his brows slammed together in contemplation. She closed her door and arched an eyebrow up at him.

"Reid?" She paused as he looked up. "Are you ok?"

He shook his head, "It has to be DeRosa, Audrey…"

Audrey put her things down and shrugged off her coat, "Reid, he didn't look like he knew a thing about the flowers…" She sighed rubbing her forehead. "I don't know who else could possibly be sending them, maybe it's just a joke someone is playing on me…"

"But who?"

"I don't know… but obviously it's not Elliot,"

Reid knew that the topic was exhausted right now, he pulled her hand in to his and she looked up at him and then at the door. He smiled at her; she knew what he wanted, but not here. It just was not the right place or the time.

"Reid, we can't do this here…" She mused pulling away from him.

"No one is going to see us," He assured her.

He looped his arms around her waist, sliding off of the desk.

"How can you be so sure?" She questioned him, pushing her hands firmly against his chest.

Reid tilted his head to the side, "Just trust me, ok?"

She stared at him, "Can't you wait until later?"

Reid smirked and shook his head, the blonde mop on top of his head moved gracefully with his gesture. His slender fingers found her chin and lifted her lips up to meet his.

"I would go absolutely mad if I had to wait any longer than I already have to…" He mumbled against her lips, kissing her again.

She succumbed to him, liking the feeling his lips caused her. The dangerousness of it; kissing one of your students in your class room, during school hours it was just taboo. This was worse than the library after detention.

Reid situated them, so that the back of her thighs pressed up against the hard wood of her desk. Audrey gripped the lapels of his jacket; she pulled him closer to her; his tall lean frame stood between her legs.

That familiar twitch in her stomach made her gasp haughtily in to his mouth, making the blonde smile deepening the kiss, his hands gripping her hips and slowly making their way to gripping her backside.

As soon as Reid's hands found her rear she came to her senses.

Audrey pressed her hands even more firmly against the blonde's chest and managed to get him to let her go. He pressed his lips to hers again, this time a simple, sweet peck.

"That was…" She was about to scold him, but he stopped her with another kiss.

"…incredible…" He mused and she smacked his arm pushing him away from her body.

"I should give you a piece of my mind for doing that…"

Reid smirked, "But you won't… because you liked it…"

She gave him a long hard stare; his smirk only grew as he slowly backed up to the door and snuck out of her office. She groaned inwardly. She didn't know if she was going to be able to get over this crush she had on the blonde.

He was making this way too difficult for her.

* * *

**I want to be shoved up against a desk, or anything else for that matter, by Reid Garwin. Thats a total turn on... lol. Listen to me. I'll shut up now. Short Chapter, but it was going to be edited out, but decided against it. **


	15. Attest

**A/N: **Sorry it took awhile to get this one out here, I was dabbling with a couple different scenarios, but chose to stick to this one. I'm glad you guys are all enjoying it, that's awesome... and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside... :)

_**Warning: **Underage drinking.  
I don't condone it, but we all know its part of everyday life for teens these days. __If you're young don't drink, it's bad._

* * *

**Chapter 15**

The flowers arrived Wednesday like they did the two days previous, she had taken them and put them behind her desk, not bothering to acknowledge her class's interest in the show of interest from a mystery person. She pressed through class going over their latest worksheets with them and letting them know that they would have a term paper due before the end of the semester.

This did cause a groan out of the class, all except for the blonde wonder that sat staring at her. He worried his bottom lip and it was starting to distract her.

When class was over Audrey half-expected him to come to her, but he didn't which not only surprised her but also upset her just a bit. Her mind raced wondering what had caused him to stray from their normal routine; maybe he was so angry about the flowers that he didn't want to talk about it.

Nevertheless, she still had a job to do and she couldn't worry about her personal matters at the moment. The day slowly seeped through the seams and she barely noticed the lack of enthusiasm in her teaching.

She knew it was probably wrong, but she just wanted the day to be over. The issue with Reid was starting to itch at her and she couldn't wait to get home and cook dinner for him so that they could talk about what ever was bothering him.

She was gathering her things up to head to detention when a knock came at her door. She looked up and met a pair of charming brown eyes.

She smiled waving the person in; she relaxed a bit in her seat and smiled.

"Miss Nolan," His voice was deep, but not threatening in the least bit.

"Caleb, what can I do for you?"

The teenage boy shifted a bit, looking a little nervous, "I kind of wanted to ask you something…"

"Ok," She tried not to look alarmed but she didn't really know what to expect.

"Sarah's birthday is coming up, and I don't really know what to get her…" He looked a bit embarrassed scratching the back of his neck.

Audrey smiled getting up from her seat, she really never thought that she'd have a student come to her asking her about this, but by the look on Caleb's face he wasn't really coming to her as a student. He was coming to her as a friend.

""What did you have in mind?" She asked him.

She wanted to see what he thought he should get her, after spending a few weeks with Sarah in class, and seeing her interact with him and their friends, she had a pretty good idea of what Sarah was really like.

"I was thinking about a necklace, or maybe some earrings, but I don't know…" He chewed his bottom lip, hands shoved in to the front pockets of his blue uniformed pants. "It sort of seems impersonal,"

Audrey nodded in agreement.

"I just don't know what I can get her, I want to get her something nice… y'know… but I don't know how much is too much…"

Audrey fought the smile on her face, "Caleb, Sarah isn't the kind of girl who expects expensive things," She pursed her lips together. "She seems like the kind of girl who is more about the thought, and the effort behind it."

Caleb nodded his head, "And I think that's the part that's most difficult about this…" His face scrunched up and he looked at the door, "I shouldn't keep you… Reid might kill me…" His voice was low but he smiled afterwards.

"I don't think so," She shook her head assuring him; she wouldn't let Reid hurt Caleb. Caleb was the kind of boy she wished she had met in high school.

Charming, sweet and thoughtful.

The brunette boy smiled and headed for the door, that's when a good idea grabbed Audrey by surprise, "Oh Caleb,"

He turned to look at her, "Yes Miss Nolan?"

"I just had a good idea," She grabbed her things. "Maybe you could buy her tickets to a show she likes, or a concert?"

His brown eyes lit up, a grin spread over his face, "That's a perfect idea…" He realized, she could see the look that crossed his face; one that said 'Why didn't I think of that?'

She nodded her head and watched him leave before picking up the flowers next to her chair and heading for the door. A body in the door stopped her and she gasped out loud.

"Jesus," She managed to get a hand to her chest, staring up in to a pair of familiar eyes. "You scared the hell out of me," She breathed.

"Didn't mean to, oh look… more flowers, huh?" The man greeted her with a small grin on his handsome face.

She nervously looked up at him and nodded, "Yeah…" She whispered looking away.

"I wonder what Mr. Danvers wanted?" His voice literally pushed her back in to her classroom. He was eying her skeptically.

"He just had a question on an assignment, no big deal…" She shrugged her shoulders and headed towards the door again. "Now if you'll excuse me I have to go sit through detention…"

Elliot caught her wrist and pulled her closer to him, "You like the younger ones, is that it?" He asked. "A good choice with the Sons of Ipswich…" His eyebrows knitted together, and Audrey yanked her arm out of his grasp.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Elliot" She forced him out of the classroom, very uneasy with the way he was going about this. "… but I can assure you that it's not like that… though it is none of your business." She locked up her classroom and stared at him, wondering why he was pressing this issue.

"That's where you're wrong; it is my business if you're sneaking around with students… you can get in a lot of trouble for that, Audrey…" He shook his head.

She shook her head, "Nothing is going on between me and any of my students, Elliot. Now I would appreciate it if you would step aside so that I can do my job…" She gave him a meaningful look and Elliot stepped aside.

Audrey pressed her lips together and stormed down the hallway, trying to ignore the burning feeling she was receiving from the man. He was now at the top of her creepy list, not to mention her suspect list.

She hurried to detention, running late; she took the stairs two at a time and came face to face with only one face. A very familiar one, she went to the desk and glanced at the role and noticed just his name.

She sighed and slumped down in her chair, he pulled up a chair immediately and she shook her head trying to suppress the emotions that were running through her at that very minute.

"Audrey," His voice caused goose bumps on her arms and she shuddered.

"I think it's him…" She whispered glancing over her shoulder to scan the first floor of the library. "In fact, I'm pretty sure it is,"

Reid's jaw set tightly, his eyes narrowed, "Elliot?"

She nodded her head and rubbed her arms, "I honestly think he's the one"

Reid grabbed her hand and demanded to know what was going on. He wanted to know why she looked so shaken up and how she was sure that Elliot was the idiot sending her the flowers. Audrey stared at him for a second, pulling her hand out of his, causing Reid to look at her confused.

"We can't do this here, not now… go back to the desk and we'll discuss it tonight, ok?" Her voice was flat, her eyes not daring to look at him.

She heard him groan, growl and then shove the chair away from him as he stormed back over to her desk. She couldn't risk having him so close to her, not in an open space, not when Elliot could easily see them if he just looked up from the first floor.

He sat there for about ten minutes before he got up and started pacing, he glanced at the watch on his wrist every few minutes, and then up at Audrey who tired to busy herself with work. After another round of silence she slammed her pen down and pushed away from the desk.

Reid stared at her as she walked over to him, pushing him far away from the railing of the second floor, so that no one could see them. She pushed him in to a seat and stared at him a finger pointed out accusingly.

"Don't do this to me, Reid." She stated firmly. "Do not make this harder than it is…"

"I'm glad you at least realize that," Reid snickered eagerly grabbing her hand in his, pulling her closer to him. "This is so much easier when there are other people in the room,"

"Look, we have to cool down our contact during school hours, ok… I just don't want anything bad to happen…"

Reid's forehead creased, "Why would anything bad happen?" He asked both of his hands on her hips now, he stood up to his full height, towering several inches above her.

"I'll explain everything at dinner, I promise… just for right now I need you to do this for me, ok?"

He stared at her for a minute and then glanced down at his watch; he had a mere twenty-six minutes left. He let the sigh escape his lips and he gave her a faint nod. Audrey forced a smile and gave his cheek a swift grace of her lips before gliding back to the desk.

Reid sulked in to his chair and stared at her for the duration of detention.

Twenty-six minutes later he was pulling himself out of his seat and sent her a silent nod as she gathered her things and signed off by his name. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed, she had a parent-teacher conference in ten minutes, she grabbed her things a shuffled back to her classroom.

After a long discussion with Thomas Baker's mother, they were finally all in agreement and she could leave to prepare for her dinner tonight.

She had to stop at the store and get things started; dinner would take at least an hour to cook what she had in mind. Audrey stopped at the grocery store, ignoring the itching feeling that she was having about being watched, yet again.

Maybe she would bring that up to Reid tonight at dinner during her explanation of today's events with Elliot. She glanced around and didn't see anyone, but she sure as hell felt like someone was watching her every move. That wasn't good.

By the time she got home she busied herself with preparing and cooking her mother's famous lasagna. She loved making this dish, it reminded her of the good times when she was younger, there weren't many of those after her mother married her incarcerated now-ex-husband.

Shaking her thoughts she concentrated on the dish before her, she had decided to go with a nice fancy meal, with salad and garlic bread, the whole bit. She grabbed two wine glasses and one f her favorite bottles of wine setting them on the table.

Hurriedly, she ran to her bedroom to change, something more comfortable, but still cute. She wouldn't be expecting him for at least another half hour at the least, so she was very surprised when there was a knock at the door only ten minutes later.

She furrowed her brow and looked through the peephole; she didn't know what she was expecting when she looked through. The blonde mop of hair gave it away, and she hurriedly opened the door.

She smiled seeing him standing with his hands behind his back, Audrey stared at him for a second and he walked through the door smugly. His hands still hidden from her sight.

"What have you got there?"

He grinned bringing out one hand, a bouquet of beautiful sunset tulips. Audrey gasped holding her chest in surprise, they were her favorite and hardly in season. She took them and pulled Reid further inside closing the door behind them.

"Reid, how did you get these?" She asked.

"I have my ways," He grinned tilting his head just enough to capture her lips while Audrey was bedazzled by the fresh flowers. The couple stayed like this for a minute and Reid sighed sounding almost blissfully, "I've been waiting for that…"

Audrey smiled and wondered what else he was hiding, "They're gorgeous, Reid, you didn't have to…"

"Oh, I couldn't be outdone by some teacher who thinks he can freak you out in to going out with him again…" He mused following her in to the kitchen. His senses were hit by an incredible smell, "That smells amazing…"

"Thank you,"

He watched her reach several shelves above her normal height to get a vase. He laughed leaning forward to grab it for her, she smiled and thanked him.

"What else you got there?"

He pulled a small plastic container out from behind him and smiled, "Picked up a few chocolate covered strawberries on my way over…" He grinned happily at her.

"You're an angel, you know that?" She exhaled and placed the flowers on bar that separated her kitchen from the living room.

"I've been called a lot of things, but that… that is definitely new…" He grinned wrapping his arms around her waist pressing his lips to her cheek.

"Well I haven't seen much behavior that would make me think otherwise," She droned sarcastically.

Reid breathed in her ear, ignoring her sardonic remark and pressed his fingers in to her delicately exposed hips. She inhaled deeply, her body crushing against his in a very natural way, his breath was hot on her neck causing her entire body to tremble.

"Wine?" His voice questioned her.

She jumped slightly at his tone, it sounded curious and he released her hips walking in to the dining area, grabbing the bottle of imported wine with a grin on his face. He grabbed the two glasses and walked back in to her small kitchen.

"Planning to intoxicate your underage boyfriend, Miss Nolan?" He asked leaning in to kiss her.

Audrey blushed; it slipped her mind that he wasn't old enough to drink. She shook her head and her lips parted to speak, but he cut her off pressing his lips to hers. She didn't respond for a half of a second, and then her lips began to move rhythmically with his.

Reid pulled away slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, "How about a drink?" He placed the two glasses on the counter.

"Reid, you shouldn't…" She put her hand on top of his.

"Oh please…" He shrugged her hand off; he grabbed the cork screw and uncorked the wine, pouring the deep red liquid in to the cups. "Wouldn't you rather me drink here, than at Nicky's?" He questioned.

"You drink at Nicky's?" She asked astonished.

Reid laughed, "Of course,"

She was about to object and lifted her hand, "I'm not going to ask… if you drink, you stay the night…"

A smirk spread across Reid's face and he looped one arm around her waist, "I knew you were trying to intoxicate me for unadulterated reasons…" He grinned wickedly at her.

She slapped her hand on his chest and shook her head, "Behave,"

Reid grinned bringing the glass up to his lips, enjoying the taste of the wine on his tongue. Audrey eyed him for a minute; shaking her head she followed his lead. Her brown gaze searched the kitchen and she grabbed his hand pulling him in to the living room.

"There's not much to do until the food's ready." She told him sitting down on the couch.

Placing his glass down Reid pulled her body closer to his. His lips grazed the delicate skin of her neck, causing a shiver down her spine. She settled in to his arms and he sat quietly for a beat.

"So, what happened after school today?"

Audrey sighed heavily and interlaced their fingers, "I was getting ready to leave my classroom when he stepped in my way," Audrey started to explain. "He made a comment about the flowers," She lifted her hand to the new arrangement. "And then asked why Caleb had just left my class…"

Reid nodded his head and then stopped, "Wait… why _was_ Caleb in your class after hours?"

"Not like that," She squeezed his hand. "He was asking me what I thought he should get Sarah for her birthday," She felt him nod his head, letting her continue with her story, "And then he made a statement that I must like them younger…" She felt his body tense under hers, squeezing his hand again she continued. "He as referring to Pogue and Caleb, apparently…"

He relaxed, "I told you he was a creep…"

She nodded and finished telling him about her weird encounter with the Calculus teacher, Reid now understanding why she was pretty sure that he was the culprit. She then voiced her concern about how she felt like someone had been following her, and this stirred Reid up.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Reid questioned.

"I didn't think much of it…" She shrugged. "I thought I was being paranoid…"

She had turned in her seat to look at him and he forced a small smile, pressing his lips to hers, "I'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious, but you tell me if you feel it and I'll start being your shadow until we find out who it is…"

"Maybe it's nothing," She warned. "I could just be losing it,"

He shook his head, his arms wrapping around her waist again, "I doubt it,"

"Well, I'm glad we got _that _conversation out of the way…" She mused, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, get all of that crap out of the way so we can enjoy the rest of our night,"

He smiled pressing his lips firmly to her throat; Audrey squirmed a bit under his hold and turned again to meet her lips with his. Carefully she leaned forward to place her glass down, weeding her fingers though his soft blonde hair. Reid grabbed her hips and pushed her back on to the couch, letting his lean body loom over her, their mouths moving in sync.

Their hands roamed over each others bodies, the kissing intensified when Reid's mouth left hers and scaled down her jaw line, her throat, her ear lobes and then the sensitive skin around her nape. Audrey's body couldn't help but react to the way his soft lips touched her, her fingers gently pulled at the blonde locks twisted in her fingers, her legs wrapping around him possessively.

Things were heating up between the two; Reid's hands were underneath her shirt, tracing patterns on her flat stomach. Audrey's hands had disappeared under his shirt when Reid nipped at her collarbone.

The buzzer on the stove went off interrupting them; Audrey paused and stared up in to the cerulean blue apologetically. He grinned at her, not bothered by the interruption at all. He placed a rough kiss on her lips before pulling them both off of the couch.

"What'd you make, babe?" He asked grabbing their wine glasses; he watched her walk in to the kitchen, his eyes roaming over her perfect body, or at least perfect in his eyes.

"Lasagna," She reported with a grin over her shoulder.

Reid would have guessed something Italian by the lingering smell in the air. Lasagna was one of his favorite dishes, and to have it homemade, it was like the perfect date. He placed the glasses down and watched her bend down to pull the dish out of the oven; she was slipping off her oven mitts when he came behind her wrapping both arms around her waist.

"It smells incredible," He inhaled deeply, his nose deep in her dark brown waves. She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"It tastes even better," She whispered softly, her tone teasing.

Reid turned her around easily, grabbing her waist he lifted her up and placed her on the free counter next to them, a mischievous grin on his face. He met her lips hungrily, pulling away only for a brief second.

"I can attest to that…."

* * *

**The chapters seem to be staying at a steady 6-7 pages, if not more. I just can't stop writing... LOL. I guess that's not a bad thing, at least the updates take awhile to read... haha... :) Anywho, I honestly don't know how many more chapters this is going to be. Could be five, could be fifteen. I haven't exactly planned the ending out all the way...**


	16. Kiss of Death

**A/N: **My Reid muse kept running away from me, but I have subsequently tied him down so I could finish this chapter, and hopefully the next one as well. We shall see. I hope you enjoy... things start to get interesting.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Audrey glared down at the flowers sitting next to her; this was really starting to get out of hand. This time the note was a little more detailed. She had immediately thrown it away in hopes that Reid wouldn't see it, because it would only infuriate him more.

She stared at the work in front of her and sighed, she hadn't been able to concentrate all week, and things only seemed to be getting worse. Her attention was grabbed by her classroom door closing, immediately she looked up and met the handsome face of Reid Garwin.

"Hey," The brunette smiled, he gave her a small smile in return and sat at the edge of her desk.

"Hey," He paused for a brief moment, "I'm skipping out on the rest of the day; I've got some things I've got to do…"

Audrey's forehead creased and she looked up at him, "What kind of things?"

"Don't worry about it, ok?" He leaned in and quickly kissed her. "I'll be back in time for detention,"

Before Audrey could argue he disappeared out of the door. She got up from her seat and went to go after him, but he had disappeared from sight. She angrily stomped her foot, He was keeping something from her and she didn't like that.

Heading in the direction of the cafeteria she hoped she wouldn't cause a scene, but how else was she going to find out where he disappeared to. The only people that would possibly know were the other Sons of Ipswich.

As soon as she stepped foot in to the cafeteria the buzzing noise of people talking shook her wide awake. She didn't remember the acoustics in the building to be this good. Groaning she surveyed the area looking for the familiar faces.

When she spotted one, she tried to inconspicuously flag him down. She was almost successful until a couple of students noticed her. She composed herself and smiled, walking swiftly towards the Sons table.

She noticed all three of them now, sitting with Kate and Sarah. Both of the girls smiled up at the teacher and greeted her.

"Hi Sarah, Kate…" She nodded back in return. She looked at the blonde's best friend and smiled, "Tyler, can I speak to you for a moment?" She asked trying to look professional and not like a friend looking for information.

"Sure Miss Nolan," He nodded his head and stood up.

Now the cafeteria was buzzing about the fact that Tyler Simms was dragged out of the cafeteria by the new American Literature teacher. Audrey could just imagine the things that were going on around school now. She looked around the empty hallway and didn't see anyone.

"Do you know where Reid ran off to?" She asked him as quietly as she possibly could.

"I have no idea, he just told me he was bailing and that he'd see me later," Tyler lifted his shoulders walking next to the good-looking teacher that happened to be dating his best friend.

"So he didn't give you any idea at all where he was going?" Her lips pursed together worriedly.

"Do you think he's in trouble or something?" Tyler asked confused.

Audrey lifted her shoulder, "I don't know… he wasn't telling me something, for a reason…"

"Maybe he's surprising you," Tyler lifted his shoulder. "He honestly didn't say."

Audrey smiled and handed him a sheet of paper, "If you find out, let me know?"

Tyler laughed and nodded, "Sure thing,"

The brunette boy turned and started heading back towards the cafeteria. Audrey called his name out and he turned to look at her.

"Oh, tell Claire I said Hi!"

The blue eyed boy's smile widened, he nodded his head and slinked back in to the cafeteria. Audrey watched him for a brief second and then disappeared back to her classroom. It bothered her that he wouldn't tell her what he was up to.

She was almost to her class when she overheard a few voices, a name slipping out of their mouths that caused her ears to instinctively perk up. Eavesdropping was never her thing, but when it came to her boyfriend, now that he had mysteriously disappeared she was interested.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Audrey peered around the corner and spotted a red haired girl looking at herself in a mirror that hung in her locker. "I literally threw myself at him yesterday and he just walked off,"

"Reid Garwin?" The small blonde next to her asked her brows knitted together.

"Yeah, acted like I wasn't even there."

"He always flirts with you," Her smaller friend coaxed her, trying to get more information out of her.

"I know," She scoffed.

"Do you think that maybe he's got a girlfriend now?" The blonde piped up.

"Reid?" The red head snickered. "Please, he doesn't know the meaning of monogamy…" Audrey watched the girl slam her locker shut and stare at her friend, "He doesn't date girls, he screws them and then leaves them." She continued, "And even if he _did_ have a girlfriend, that's never stopped him before,"

Audrey's lips pursed together, how did this girl know what Reid did? How did she know that he didn't have a girlfriend, a steady girlfriend? She watched them walk down the hall.

She closed her eyes and willed the thoughts away; she was not going to even attempt to reason with what those girls had just said. It was absolutely preposterous. Reid was not that kind of guy. Hell she was dating him, she should know.

Forcing herself to her room she grabbed her phone and sent a quick text to the blonde young man. She was hoping that he'd answer and tell her exactly where he was and what he was doing. A lump caught in her throat, or what he _wasn't_ doing.

She was letting the words of the two teenage girls sink in to her brain, had she ruined things last night? Had she taken their relationship too far? She knew that they should have waited, but everything had just seemed so perfect.

She saw her phone dancing on the mahogany desk and picked it up. She read the text message and her throat tightened.

_I'll tell u l8er. Goin 2 miss det. C U after PTA_

He wasn't going to make it back for detention? She wanted to text him back and demand to know where he was and who he was with, but then she sounded like she was a psycho girlfriend.

Picking up her phone she called her sister, she was the only one who could probably talk some sense in to her. She waited and on the second ring Marley picked up.

"Tell me I'm not a crazy, psychotic girlfriend, please…" Audrey mumbled in to the phone, staring at the closed door of her classroom.

"You're not a crazy, psychotic girlfriend?" Marley's voice stated, her tone questioning.

"Thank you," Audrey huffed, leaning forward, her forehead resting against her forearm.

"What's this about?" Her sister questioned, Audrey could hear her shuffling through papers on the other line.

"Are you busy? I can call you back if you want…." She instinctively felt bad. She was acting like an adolescent, running to her big sister to solve her problems.

"I'm never to busy for you, you know that…" Marley announced putting her papers down. "Now, tell me what's going on…"

"Reid," Audrey mumbled, not bothering to lift her head from her desk.

"What about him?"

"Well, we had a date last night," Audrey confessed. "At my apartment,"

She heard her sister's sharp intake and winced, "You didn't?"

"We didn't do _that_ but we might as well have," Audrey flushed nervously.

"Ok," Marley grabbed her bearings. "So what's the problem?"

"He disappeared this afternoon, and he wont' tell me where he went or who he went to see or anything," She bit the corner of her lip and explained to her sister what she heard in the hall.

"You think he's cheating on you?" Marley scoffed.

Audrey's brow creased, "Its not possible, right?"

"The only way that boy could cheat on you is with me, someone older, wiser and prettier…" Her sister joked.

"And married,"

"All the more thrilling," Marley laughed in to the phone. "You have nothing to worry about; maybe he's looking to surprise you and doesn't want to ruin it for you…"

"You think?"

"I'm pretty sure of it. Kid seems smart; he wouldn't be stupid enough to mess this up…."

Audrey was a little more at ease after talking to her sister. She was usually the only one that could calm her down.

She hung up her phone and leaned far back in her chair, her fourth period class would be coming in any minute now. She stood up slipping her phone in to her pocket. People shuffled in and out of the classroom, a familiar face slipping past her and to his seat.

She started class and assigned their class work, she glanced up and noticed Tyler was half paying attention, half texting. Her lips pursed together as she sat back down at her desk. She was intrigued to know if the text was coming from Reid, or one of the other Sons.

She got her answer when her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled the piece of technology out and glanced at it carefully, sure enough a number she didn't recognized popped up on her phone.

_R said not to worry. He'll see u 2night. O, BTW it's Ty._

A small smile spread across her face and she sent a quick reply and saved the younger boy's name and number in to her phone. She glanced up and met his gaze; she gave him a slight nod before getting back to work.

She felt a little more relieved now, at least Reid knew that she was worried about something, and he was trying his best to reassure her that nothing was wrong. She tried to push away any thoughts that might make her think otherwise, she really didn't need that now.

The day dragged on mercilessly, after detention she was able to head home, eat and change before the PTA meeting. She still hadn't heard from Reid, but she was trying to not let it bug her.

After the hour long meeting she was really starting to feel antsy. She wanted to get home quickly, she wanted to not only see her boyfriend, but she also wanted to hear what he had to say to her. Her stomach had been reeling and knotting in anxiety, she hated being out of the loop, it really bothered her.

She rushed out to her car, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing her arm. She turned around quickly and came face to face with Elliot DeRosa. A sharp intake of breath and she was backed in to her car.

"What are you doing?" She asked him; to anyone else this wouldn't look threatening. Especially when he released his grip on her arm and let his hands slip to her waist, holding her hips roughly in place.

"I think you should give me another chance, Audrey," Elliot leaned down his mouth right next to her ear.

"Elliot, really," She tried to pry his hands away from her body, but it was no use, he was just that much stronger than her. "I told you before, I'm not interested…"

"I'm very persuasive…" His fingers slipped under the material of her shirt, grazing against her hip bones. Audrey slammed her hands against his chest and pushed him away, with little success.

"Elliot, this is very inappropriate and I do not appreciate you harassing me in the parking lot of the school…"

"We could take this to your apartment," He mused with a cocky grin.

Her lips turned in to a scowl and she pushed harder against his chest, "Don't be ludicrous. I do not see you in that way Elliot, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to move on to another girl,"

"See there's a problem with that, Audrey…" He gave her a menacing look. He grabbed her arms and pressed his lips roughly against hers, "I don't want another girl,"

He leaned in closer to her, pushing her back hard her spine came in contact with her side mirrors causing a bolt of pain to wreck through her back. Grinding her teeth together Audrey refused to be taken advantage of, she refused to be the damsel in distress. She did the first thing that came to mind. She lifted her knee right in to his groin.

Elliot's handsome face twisted in agony as he hunched over grabbing himself. Audrey glared down at him angrily.

"If you don't leave me alone and stop sending me all of these flowers I'm going to file a sexual harassment suit against you…" She threatened before hurriedly getting in her car and driving away, glancing over her shoulder ever few minutes to see if he had moved.

As soon as the school had left her sight she felt her nerves slowly unwind, but she was still on edge. She could still taste his tongue in her mouth and the thought was repulsing. She couldn't wait to get home and take her clothes off and relax; she wanted to take a long, hot bath and sip a glass of wine.

She arrived at her house and hurriedly walked upstairs locking the door behind her. She started stripping her clothes off as soon as the door was locked. Her jacket was hanging over the back of the couch, her shoes and socks littered the floor from the living room to the kitchen.

She grabbed a glass out of her cabinet and found a bottle of red wine that she had been dying to try. She didn't bother to pour it yet, she continued her striptease to her bedroom, unbuttoning her pants with her free hand as she shimmied out of them.

She kicked them off leaving them in the doorway of her room. She walked in to her master bathroom, which had sold her on the apartment as soon as she walked in to it. Placing the glass and the bottle on the counter she started up the bathtub, making sure to include her favorite bubble bath and bath salts.

She glanced at herself in the mirror and she could still feel Elliot's hands on her hips, his fingers digging into her, the way he backed her up painfully in to her own mirror and his lips on hers, bruising her mouth. She cringed, she didn't want to tell Reid, but she knew that it was inevitable, at least if they were still together.

The thought had crossed her mind, what if him running away like this was his way of breaking up with her? What if he didn't want to see her anymore? He'd keep making plans and then he'd keep breaking them, she had to witness that once with her older brother, and she didn't want to be the victim of that.

She pushed the thoughts away, she didn't want to think. She wanted to take a bath and drown her sorrows with the lovely red wine. She skillfully uncorked the wine and poured herself a glass, taking a few sips before she slipped her sweater over her head. She grabbed the ponytail holder that was holding her hair back and let her hair loose around her shoulders.

Her wine glass in hand Audrey inspected her body, she was human after all. Her face was still lightly dusted with make-up, still looking like the put-together teacher that she was, her hair was wavy and falling past her shoulders, and her white lace bra and matching panties made her look almost innocent.

She smiled to herself until she noticed two imprints on her hips. She glanced down and noticed the red marks where Elliot's thumbs had been digging in to her hip bones; she prayed that it didn't bruise, because she'd really have to explain that. Concerned she turned around and noticed a big red mark in the middle of her back, it was starting to bruise. Annoyed she placed her glass down and slipped out of her bra and panties.

She walked across the bathroom to turn on the radio, putting in her favorite relaxing CD, Kenny G. She turned all of the lights off in the apartment before returning to the bathroom with her candle lighter. She lit up her scented candles, grabbed her glass of wine and sank down in to the hot, relaxing water.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to not think of anything at all, but just relaxing. She sipped her red wine, her head rested back on her bathtub pillow enjoying the simple sounds of Kenny G playing the saxophone.

She was finishing up her first glass of wine when she heard the sound of what could be knocking. She grabbed the remote to her stereo and turned the music down. She listened carefully her phone was vibrating she could hear that, she heard another round of knocking and someone shuffling outside of her door.

She nervously pulled herself out of the bathtub and wrapping her tan body in the large bath towel. She slinked in to the darkened room and looked through the peep-hole. She noticed the man right away and let out a sigh of relief as she released the locks opening the door.

"Aud?" Reid's voice questioned her in the dark. "Why is it so dark in here?" He questioned as she shut the door behind him.

"Sorry," She mumbled and flicked the light on next to him.

His eyes adjusted quickly and he looked at her, his eyes locked on the fact that his girlfriend was standing before him only donning a towel and an alarmed look on her face. He brushed her damp hair out of her face, a small smile on his face.

His eyes diverted from her for a second to see the clothes scattered about and romantic music playing from her room, his brows furrowed tightly together, "Is someone else here?" He asked her.

Audrey's face fell; she clamped the towel against her chest tighter and shook her head, "Of course not, what ever gave you that idea?"

He glanced from her to down the hall, her clothes discarded around like she had been fooling around with someone, but that wasn't the case. He frown deepened that he would even think such a thing, she should be the one asking him questions. He was the one who disappeared and was probably rendezvousing with some hot-young chick from one of the other private schools. She should be asking _him_ the questions.

"Do you really think that I would fool around with someone behind your back?" She asked concerned.

"Well," Reid scratched the back of his neck a sheepish grin on his face.

"I should be asking _you_ where you've been _all _day…" She pointed out giving his shoulder a curt shove.

"That's why I'm here…" Reid sighed heavily running a hand through his hair.

Audrey stared at him curiously. He didn't look like he was in a very happy mood, not in the slightest. She watched him take her hand and a look that she had never seen crossed over his features.

"Audrey, we need to talk…"

Her heart stomach flew to her throat; she was going to be sick. He was going to break up with her; he was going to tell her exactly what she didn't want to hear. That everything those two obnoxious girls in the hallways had said today was true. That he was cheating on her, that he wasn't faithful that he was going to break up with her because he found greener, younger, more exciting pastures.

She knew it was never ever a good thing when a guy sat you down and told you that 'we need to talk'. It was like the kiss of death, and she didn't even have her wine to numb the pain.

* * *

**Well... I guess we'll have to see what happens. What is Reid up to?**


	17. Firstly, Secondly

**A/N: **I know, I know. Shame on me for the way I ended the last chapter. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself! But I hope you like this chapter... you find out quite a bit. If you have any questions, let me know (anything that doesn't give away the rest of the story, of course)!

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Reid watched Audrey carefully as she took a seat next to him. She was still clutching the towel to her chest, a look of absolute horror was written all over her face. Reid groaned inwardly, he took her hand in his and gave her a small smile. Maybe that would help things, when she grimaced back he decided it was time to come clean.

"I did something today that I really shouldn't have," He started off.

He looked up to meet her gaze, and instead of looking curious his girlfriend was on the verge of tears. His heart thudded heavily in his chest and he didn't know what he was saying to make her react this way, but he definitely did not want to see her cry.

"Oh God," The words were barely audible as Audrey bent over clasping a hand over her mouth.

She never thought that Reid would actually cheat on her. The thought had crossed her mind, but she figured it was her foolishness. She didn't' really think that it would happen and that he would confess to it. She couldn't make herself look up, she could only sniffle and try to hide her sobs.

They had only been dating for a little while, but she felt such a strong connection to him. Aside from the thoughts of trying to make this end when it first started, she didn't want it to. They just seemed so right for each other.

"Audrey, baby… what's wrong?" He asked scooting closer to her; he wrapped his arms around her pulling her in to his chest.

"I can't believe you," She whispered hoarsely pushing him away from her.

Reid's brow furrowed and he pulled her face in to his hands, "But babe, I haven't even told you what I did…"

She snorted and stood up abruptly, holding on to her towel, "Oh, I can imagine…"

"Audrey, I'm confused," He admitted getting up to follow her. She was headed in to her bedroom, and he was hot on her trail.

"You questioned me if I had someone else here…" She pointed to the empty tub and the radio that was still playing, ironically, Kenny G's duet with Toni Braxton playing, 'How could and Angel break my heart?' "And here you are about to confess to me that you cheated on _me_…"

Reid's face fell, his confused look deepened, a hint of anger in his eyes as he took a step forward, she was thumbing through her medicine cabinet searching dramatically for something. He grabbed her wrist and turned her around to look at him.

"You think I cheated on you?" His voice was laced with disbelief, "Do you think I'm some kind of moron?" Confusion quickly washed away and it was replaced by an angered look. "Who told you this? Did Elliot make some kind of comment? Tyler? Who?"

"No one," Audrey didn't shrink away, albeit terrified.

"So you just assumed because I skipped class and detention that I cheated on you?"

She felt her anger levels rise, she may have been terrified of his temper right now, but she was not about to let him manhandle her, not after her run in with Elliot. She couldn't handle that from her own boyfriend.

She wrenched her arm out of his grasp and stared at him, "Do not grab me like that," She massaged her wrist carefully hoping that her towel would not fall. "I have had enough with men trying to intimidate me."

His face softened and he stepped closer, "Who tried intimidating you?" His voice full of concern.

"It doesn't matter," She looked away from him. She took a step back. "If you didn't cheat on me, how come you didn't tell me where you were going or what you were doing?"

Reid's harsh gaze softened, he looked down at the ground, "I didn't tell you because I knew that you would tell me not to go…"

"You would have gone anyway…" She mumbled to herself.

Reid shook his head, "I wouldn't have." He admitted. "If you asked me not to do something, do you think I'm going to be stupid enough to do it? To jeopardize our relationship?"

"So instead of asking me, and me telling you no… you didn't tell me so you could avoid having to jeopardize our relationship, so instead you lied to me."

"I did not lie to you," He cocked his head to the side, "I just didn't tell you everything, which isn't a lie…"

"Fine, then tell me what the hell you were doing before I get pissed off Reid Garwin." She demanded angrily.

A small grin lifted on Reid's face as he took her hand in his, "It's really hot when you're pissed off…" Trying to fight the smile that was trying to dance across her lips she gave him a stern look and he nodded his head, "Ok, I did some digging on Elliot,"

"What do you mean 'some digging'?" She asked.

Reid sat on her counter and pulled her in between his legs, holding her in place, "You don't want to know how I got the information that I did, ok…" He pursed his lips together. "It's illegal in all fifty states and probably most other countries…"

Lips pursed Audrey stared up at the blonde, "Reid, you didn't?"

"Look, all you need to know is I spoke to a friend of a friend and got what I needed." That charming smile spread across his handsome face. "You could say it was a family favor,"

"Reid,"

He held his finger up to her lips and shook his head, "Just listen to me…" She tried to listen but the patterns he was circling in to her back were just slightly distracting. "Elliot isn't just a creep, ok…" He cleared his throat. "He's a con-man…"

"What?" Audrey's face fell completely, the calming feeling that I was getting from his fingertips slipped away. The thought of another con-man in her life was making her have a serious case of déjà vuand she did not like it.

"He adapts to these peoples lives, and takes all their money…" He swallowed hard, pushing her bangs out of her face again. "But that's not the worse part,"

"It gets worse?" She stared at him, wondering how in the hell this could get any worse.

The blonde's lips pursed tightly together and he grabbed her face in his hands, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs, "His real name is Jacob Stone,"

The name registered in her head, her jaw set tightly, and she felt like such an idiot. How could she have not seen that coming? How could she have overlooked the similarities? Was she really that oblivious to the things around her?

"No," She whispered harshly shaking her head, tearing her face out of his hands. She grabbed on to her towel. "That's not possible," She whispered pinching her eyes closed. "Jacob died in a fire over eight years ago…" She pursed her lips together.

"He took over the family business, Audrey…" Reid's eyes narrowed in on her. "It was a set up; his father was in on it…"

Audrey was still she stood only a few feet away form Reid, her mouth hanging open in complete shock. She never thought that she would have to face this kind of thing again. Not only was Jacob Stone back in her life, but some how Felix Stone was in on it. She gnawed away anxious at her bottom lip, looking around the bathroom as if she were searching for an answer.

"Are you sure this is all true?"

"A hundred percent," He gave her an assured nod.

"What about the wife and the two kids?" She mumbled her hands kneading the towel that was covering her body.

"I'm guessing he paid them off," Reid sighed heavily. "Look, I've hired a private investigator to look further in to this for us, ok?"

"What?"

"Look, he's harassing you, it's like he picked you out for a reason,"

"He did," She stared at him, taking a step closer. "Oh my God, Reid…" She put a hand to her mouth, her face tear streaked from her outburst only minutes ago. "Jesus Christ, why didn't I think about this before?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm the reason that Felix is in jail…" Her lips pressed together firmly. "I sold him out, I testified against him…"

"So?" Reid's brows furrowed together.

"Jacob, the last time I saw him, he told me that I would regret what I did, and not but six months later he was 'dead'…" Tears brimmed her eyes again.

Reid slid off of the counter and pulled his girlfriend in to his arms. Pressing his lips to her forehead he told her that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. She held on to him as though her life depended upon it.

After she gained her composure, what seemed like hours later, Reid pulled them off of the marble tiled floor and drained her tub, ready to redraw her bath. He was sure the water was freezing by now and he had interrupted her before.

"Reid," She looked up at him, her mascara probably smeared looking anything but attractive. "What am I going to do?" She asked hopelessly. "I can't show my face at Spenser now, I can't… I would fall apart at the seams if he touched me, let alone if he looked at me…"

"What do you mean touch you?"

She forgot that she hadn't dared tell him about what happened after the PTA meeting. She looked up at him, hoping that he wouldn't go absolutely ape shit. She took a deep breath and decided to tell him now before he found out himself.

She spoke quickly, telling him everything, what was said, the way he touched her, the way that he had kissed her and more importantly how she fended him off by kneeing him in the nuts. Reid stared at her in complete shock, he really didn't know whether to applaud her, or to go find this bastard and beat the living tar out of him.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You weren't answering my phone calls before, I didn't think that you were going to answer them then… I just figured that…"

"I had cheated on you and you were going to deal with this psychopath on your own?"

"Something along those lines,"

He turned the water off as soon as it started to touch the top of the tub, pulling the older woman in to his arms. He smiled at her, kissing her softly.

"First of all," He let his fingers massage her arms. "I would never cheat on you," His voice was barely audible. "You know I'm a big flirt by nature, but I'd never even think about touching another woman that isn't you…"

His hands drifted down to her waist, playing with the material that was hiding her heavenly body. A small grin lifted on to her face and she leaned in kissing him again, trying to ward off the agonizing thoughts of Felix and Jacob Stone.

"And Secondly?"

"You're not doing this alone," He whispered in to her ear.

* * *

**Tell me what you think, am I forgiven for that terrible cliffhanger on the last chapter? ;)**


	18. Spare

**A/N: **Sorry for the lack of updating, I've started to write a little bit of original fiction, and the story I'm working on now is quite interesting. If you're interested I'm posting under a penname on fictiopress (KBFrank). The story is called Crimson Bride, and I also have another called All Fall Down.

Enjoy the Audrey/Reid Update.

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Audrey curled up quietly next to the body next to her, her head resting casually on his chest. A small smile danced on her lips as his fingers ran through her hair, calming her. The easy beating of his heart was making her sleepy, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet, she wanted to enjoy this moment for as long as she could.

"Reid," Her voice a bit hoarse, her throat dry.

"Yeah babe?"

"Do you think that Ell-Jacob… knows about us?"

Reid tensed at the name; he really didn't want to talk about that asshole right now. He had just experienced one of the best nights of his life; he didn't want to spoil it by thinking that Audrey's career could come to an end tomorrow.

Reid held her closer to his body, pressing his lips in to her hair, "Don't worry about that now, Ok?"

Audrey didn't move. She let out a heavy sigh, nodding her head silently holding on tightly to the blonde's frame. She couldn't help but think that this might be the last time she might be able to hold him in her arms, touch him or kiss him.

She woke up the next morning, the bed empty next to her. Had it all been a dream? She wondered sitting up, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She could hear someone in the kitchen and she didn't know whether to smile or frown. It obviously wasn't a dream.

Audrey pushed the covers off of her body. She let a soft groan escape her lips, she really didn't want to go in to work today, and it might end up being her last day. She heard the noises in the kitchen come to a halt, and the sound of feet padding against the berber carpet.

"Aud, babe you awake?" Reid's voice filtered down the hallway until she saw him in the doorway. "You are. Hungry?" A handsome grin on his face.

"Starved, what time is it?"

He crossed the room to her, "Five-thirty…"

A small smile spread across her face when he took a seat next to her, wrapping his long arms around her. She felt so content in his arms, she didn't want to leave. After a few moments like this Reid pulled her off of the bed and towards the kitchen.

"Coffee?"

She simply nodded falling in to an empty chair. Reid laughed and prepared two cups of coffee. Audrey tilted her head to the side and saw a few things scattered across her counters, her gaze rested on Reid who was standing with his uniform pants slung low on his hips and no shirt on.

"I could get used to this," She mumbled almost incoherently.

Reid smiled at her words and dropped the cup of coffee in front of her, placing a kiss on her forehead. He took a sip from his cup before returning to the kitchen.

"I'm not the best cook in the world, but I can make a damn good breakfast," He remarked.

"I didn't take you as a morning person, Reid…"

He tossed her a lazy grin, shaking his head, "I'm usually not." He brought back a couple of plates and placed one down in front of her. He let his lips graze her ear, "But after the night I had, sleep wasn't an option…"

Audrey blushed wildly and glanced up at him, her brown eyes searching for a hint of joking in his eyes, but she didn't find any. She looked back down at her plate and tried to contain her rapidly beating heart. If she wasn't careful she was going to have a heart attack.

"You're amazing," She breathed as he perched himself in the chair next to her.

Reid smirked, "I do this boyfriend thing pretty well, huh?" He asked taking a sip of his coffee.

She laughed and nodded, "Yeah, you're pretty damn good at it…"

They ate in a peaceful silence, giving each other looks that would make most people sick. Audrey couldn't fight the butterflies in her stomach anymore, and she knew that even if her relationship with Reid was frowned upon there was nothing in the world that made her happier.

Audrey picked up their plates and turned on the water, she rested her hip against the counter waiting for the temperature to warm. She watched his muscular back flex with every movement he made.

Reid felt her eyes on him, and didn't mind. He shocked himself when he rolled out of bed this morning at five a.m. he hadn't gotten up that early in a long time, especially not to start breakfast for a girl. But Audrey wasn't just any girl, she was _his_ girl.

A smile tugged at his lips, Reid turned in his seat and inspected her. She was only wearing his black undershirt that he had donned yesterday under his favorite hoodie. He couldn't tear his gaze off of her. He loved looking at her.

"See something you like?" She questioned him playfully.

Reid's eyes lingered up her body, a wolf-like grin crossed his face. He was out of his chair and in front of her within a few seconds flat. She smiled letting out a jubilant giggle, his arms encircled her waist and he pressed his lips to hers.

He wanted to mumble to her that he saw something that he loved, but he refrained, not wanting to scare her away. He lifted her up and rested her on to the counter, his arms still wrapped around her.

Audrey pulled away and cupped his face in her hands, "What are we going to do?" She whispered her thoughts sidetracked with the day ahead of them.

"I'm going to take you in to the bedroom and ravish you. That's what we're going to do…" He mumbled kissing her quickly.

Audrey smiled a little, but placed her hands on his shoulders, "Seriously Reid, what if something happens. What if he goes to the provost or something?"

Reid sighed and rested his forehead against her chest, letting her rest her chin on the top of his head. He took a few deep breaths before coming to a conclusion.

"If the provost asks you anything just deny it…" He stated glancing up at her. "I'll take care of everything else."

"What if I was right, what if someone has been watching me… what if they have pictures of us together?"

Reid smiled and shook his head, "We were careful, trust me… I'll take care of everything else."

Audrey sighed holding him tightly, not wanting to let go and definitely not ready to leave the comfort of her apartment. She prayed that no surprises awaited her at Spenser Academy, she wasn't sure if she was in the right frame of mind to handle that.

The two of them got ready for work and school. Audrey found it hard to get her stuff together while Reid walked around her apartment half-naked. She peeked her head outside and saw that Tyler's Hummer wasn't parked where it usually was.

"How did you get here?"

"Tyler dropped me off; I'll ride to school with Pogue…" He shrugged his shoulders.

She nodded her head and closed the door; she pulled him to her and placed her lips on his. She let her lips linger over his a few seconds longer than normal and pulled away as slowly as possible. He grinned and brushed her bangs out of her face.

"If you keep that up, we'll never make it to Spenser."

Audrey fixed his tie and smiled, "Would it be easier if I went to a different school, to teach?" She asked him.

Reid rested his hands on her hips, "That is a decision you have to make on your own babe, though I've had some nice little fantasies about me, and you and that desk of yours." He grinned at her naughtily.

She blushed several shades of red. Reid kissed her again. Audrey grabbed her things; she knew she had a lot to think about today at work. She picked up her keys and glanced at the spare that was lying next to a picture of her and her sister.

A small grin spread across her face, she gripped the key in her hand and turned back to Reid. He was slipping his blazer on his hair all disheveled but looking handsome as usual. Audrey slipped her bag over her shoulder and grabbed his hand.

"What the…" Reid started to ask confused; he lingered off when he realized she was leaving something in his hand. A smirk spread across his face when he looked down to see the silver key staring back up at him. "What's this?"

"Do you even have to ask?" She questioned him, a coy smile on her face. She hoped that she didn't scare him off by giving him a key to her apartment.

"The key to your heart, I'm hoping…" He chimed in suavely.

Audrey couldn't fight the smile and pressed her lips against his again, "Close," She whispered before slipping out of her apartment.

Her trip in to work was somewhat enjoyable and Audrey knew she had a few huge choices in front of her. She nixed any choice that included her breaking up with Reid, because that was not going to happen. Being at Spenser was like her dream job, but if she had to leave for a few years and then come back, then she would have to do that.

She figured she'd go talk to the Provost and see what her options were.

She arrived at school and hurried in, not bothering to stop and talk to anyone. She whisked in to her room and put her things away, she straightened out her outfit and headed towards the front office, she needed to get this out of the way before something happened.

"Audrey, hey Audrey…"

She stopped dead in her tracks; she was not expecting to hear his voice first thing in the morning. A million thoughts rushed through her head as she contemplated what to do. Does she play along like she still has no idea who he really is? Or does she call him out right here, right now?

She decided that ignorance was bliss. She feigned a forced smile, he had kneed the man in the privates yesterday, and there was no telling what he was going to say to her. She turned and watched him walk towards her, a small smile in place.

"What do you want Elliot?" She asked sharply, using his 'fake' name was difficult. She wanted to call him out and call him Jacob, but she couldn't find it in her to do that here.

"Look, about yesterday…" He came over to her, touching her arm. She flinched away from him and he frowned. "I'm sorry," He cleared his throat. "I came on a little too strong, and I'm sorry…"

"Sorry really doesn't cut it," She took a step back. "I could have you fired for sexual harassment…"

Something flashed in his eyes and she felt an inkling of worry was over her, he leered forward, his eyes focused on hers. He backed her up in to the lockers behind her and a smirk rested on his lips.

"You wouldn't do that, would you?" He leaned in close to her ear.

Audrey shuddered. The thought that her stepbrother wanted to be this close to her, wanted to hurt her in anyway possible, just gave her the creeps. He licked his lips and pressed his lips to her cheek.

"You have problems, Elliot… you need to realize that I don't want anything to do with you." She pressed her hands against his chest forcefully.

"See, you're giving off mixed signals babe,"

She cringed again, when he called her 'babe' it didn't have the same endearment that it did when Reid used it. She shook the blonde from her thoughts temporarily, she had to find a way out of his clutches, or she was going to be in trouble.

"Look," She gave up fighting with him. "What will it take for you to leave me alone?"

A grin graced his face and he leaned forward, his lips inches away from hers, "One more date, that's all I need…"

_Yeah, so you can kill me off, no thanks, _Audrey thought to herself. Her estranged, once-thought dead, stepbrother eased up on her, she was able to push him off of her.

Shaking her head she sighed, "Sorry no can do…"

She headed to the Provost office, not bothering to look back. She could imagine his face, probably twisted in anger. It probably wouldn't end well, but she didn't care, she had to get away from him. She had to do what she had to do now before it was too late.

She walked swiftly to the Provost office and was happy to find him there, and the secretary away from her desk. She knocked on the door and his deep voice made her jump just a little bit.

"Good Morning Provost Higgins," She smiled at him, closing the door behind her.

The Provost grinned, "Audrey, what a pleasant surprise…" He stood up and pointed to the seat in front of his desk, "Please take a seat…" Audrey nodded and smiled at him. "What can I do for you today, Miss Nolan?"

Audrey took a deep breath. She knew this was it, she had to put her plan in to action.

"Well, Provost Higgins, I really wanted to talk to you about my position here at Spenser…"

* * *

**Ok, so things are starting to come around, tell me what you think?**


	19. Meeting

**A/N:** Nothing witty or interesting to say here. Oh, except for I think this might be coming to an end soon... (dodges threats and tomatoes)

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Her conversation with Provost Higgins went over a lot easier than she had first expected. She literally sashayed her way down the hall back to her class. She would finish out the day here and then she would come back in a few years after she got some more experience in the field.

She hated to leave her roll here at Spenser, it was her dream after all, but her priorities and plans changed. She wanted to be with Reid and she would do whatever she had to, to make that possible.

When she entered the classroom she nearly tripped over her own two feet. There were vases of flowers surrounding her desk, like nothing she had ever seen before. Audrey's stomach twisted in knots, she didn't want this to happen. She felt her heart pound viciously in her chest.

"This is ridiculous," She mumbled pushing a hand through her dark brown hair.

"Miss Nolan," She turned around and saw Caleb walk in to the room, he adjusted the book bag that was on his shoulder. "Is everything ok?"

Audrey waved her hand and nodded, "Yes, Caleb… I'm sorry…"

He inspected the flowers and walked up next to her, "Do you have any idea who's doing this?" Caleb questioned her.

Audrey glanced over at him and pondered whether or not she should tell him, "Well," She cleared her throat. "I don't really know what Reid's told you about…"

Caleb smiled, that normal charming grin of his and she relaxed a bit, "Elliot," Her voice was low and she stared at the plethora of flowers. "And just so you know, today is my last day here…"

"You're leaving Spenser?"

"I am," She nodded. "I figured it would be best."

Caleb nodded his head and headed to his seat; she glanced around the nearly empty room and sighed. Caleb set his bag down and trudged back down the stairs, he enlisted his help to Audrey and the two were able to gather all of the vases and stuff them in the corner of the room, moving the large chalk board to hide them from view.

"Thank you, Caleb." She smiled at him.

"No problem,"

She settled back in her chair and noticed the envelope that had her name etched across it. She picked it up, her hands shaking. She opened the envelope her eyes darting up to look at Caleb, the dark haired boy was hunched over his desk writing something—paying her no mind.

Taking out the contents she was surprised to see several photographs fall in to her lap. She swallowed hard putting the letter down and collecting the photographs. Her intake of a sharp breath pulled Caleb's attention to her, and Pogue's who was just walking through the door.

"Miss Nolan?" The boy's asked almost simultaneously.

She flipped through the pictures a horror-stricken look on her face. Her hands were shaking and Caleb scaled the stairs to reach her, Pogue at his side in a split second. He grabbed the pictures from her hand and she shook her head in complete disbelief.

"I—I…" She couldn't find the words to explain her thoughts.

He had seen her together with all of the Sons, he had pictures that were incriminating, and he was going to blackmail her. He was going to force her to leave her job, but she was a step ahead of him. She had already done so.

"Where did these come from?" Pogue asked looking at a picture of him leaning against Audrey's car after school one day, the two of them exchanging a few words, before he had gotten in to go home. The next picture was of the two of them heading up the stairs to their apartments.

"Jacob," She whispered blinking. Instinctively, she grabbed the letter that the pictures had come in and read through it quickly. She angrily tossed it to the side afterwards, standing up from her desk ."That motherfucker," She growled lowly.

"Wait, who's Jacob?" Caleb questioned glancing at the picture of him talking to Audrey just a few days ago about Sarah's birthday. Anyone who looked at the pictures could interpret what had happened in very different ways.

"Elliot," She met his gaze.

"Elliot?" Pogue asked confused. "Which is it Jacob or Elliot?"

"They're the same person," She stared at the two younger men. "Elliot is Jacob, Jacob is Elliot…" She shook her head. "It's a long confusing story."

Caleb and Pogue nodded, "What are you going to do about this?"

Audrey shook her head not really sure what to make of this. Several people entered the door, Pogue and Caleb both shuffled the pictures and handed them back to Audrey who stuffed them in her bag. She smiled and glanced at the two young men.

"Of course you and Mr. Parry can work on this together, just make sure that I get it back by the end of the week," She forced a small grin and sat back down at her desk.

Caleb glanced at Pogue and they headed back to their desks. Audrey glanced around and the class started to fill up, but there was still no sign of Reid. She glanced up at Pogue, grabbing his attention. The dishwater blonde raised his eyebrows wondering what she was looking for, her gaze shifted to Reid's empty seat.

Pogue glanced at the empty seat and then back at Audrey who returned her gaze to him. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. The older woman sighed and licked her lips, the last bell rang and she waited a few minutes, but still no sign of him.

She started her class, on edge. Her gaze shifted from Reid's seat to the door. She hoped that he would walk in at any minute, but he hadn't.

Half-way through class she found herself literally chewing at her fingernails, seconds away from grabbing her phone and texting him. When she was reaching in to her purse to get her phone her door opened.

She let out a breath, but soon retracted it when she noticed that the figure who walked through the door wasn't her boyfriend, or one of her students. She swallowed hard, it was the secretary. She bustled over to Audrey and whispered a few short words to her and Audrey glanced up at her class, her eyes locking with Pogue and Caleb.

"Ok, thank you…" She whispered.

Audrey side-stepped the secretary, who sat down in her chair and told the class to get back to their worksheets. The young teacher slipped out of the classroom, all eyes on her.

A million thoughts rushed through her head. Why did the Provost want to see her again? Had Ell—Jacob gone to him about the pictures? Did he leave some kind of clue to her relationship with Reid? She cleared her throat before entering the admissions office.

She didn't have a good feeling about this, not at all.

She took a deep breath before stepping in to the room; she was shocked to see that the Provost sitting at his desk, his face contorted in a violent stare. Two people sat before him, and both she recognized immediately; Reid Garwin and Elliot DeRosa—Jacob Stone.

"Provost,"

His piercing gaze shot up to meet hers. Audrey swallowed hard and stepped in to the room, both the other men in the room looked up at her. Reid's look was pensive, and Elliot—Jacob's was amused.

"Audrey, please come in…" His voice was much different than it had been earlier that morning.

Audrey shifted her gaze from one man to the next, a little unsettled at the sight before her, "Is there something the matter?"

"Yes," Provost nodded gravely. "We had a slight confrontation earlier in the hall amongst Mr. Garwin and Mr. DeRosa…" His gaze shifted between the two. "It seems that this argument revolved around _you _Miss Nolan."

"Excuse me?" Audrey looked shocked; she didn't think that Reid would start something with her step-brother, especially not after their talk this morning. She glanced at the dark haired man, a smirk dance on his lips and that was all she needed to know. The dark haired man had started it.

"It seems that both of these young men believe that you're dating them," He cleared his throat and pulled at the collar of his shirt. Audrey met Reid's gaze and he gave her a meaningful look and she looked back at the Provost scoffing.

"I'm sorry Provost, but they're both sadly mistaking…" Audrey announced glaring at her stepbrother.

"Are you telling me that you have no relationship with either Mr. DeRosa or Mr. Garwin?"

Audrey shifted uncomfortably, "I went on a few dates with Ell—Elliot but other than that, no sir." She shook her head.

"What about any of our other students, Miss Nolan?" Provost Higgins questioned leaning forward on his desk.

Audrey situated herself and glanced at the two bodies in the room, "I'm sorry Provost Higgins, I do not wish to discuss this in front of an audience," She mused.

Provost Higgins nodded, "Mr. DeRosa, Mr. Garwin please step outside,"

Reid and Elliot both got up and brushed past her. Audrey stepped further in to the dimly lit office and glanced around. She had wondered why the Provost liked his office so dark, she wondered if that was an intimidation method.

"Provost, let me explain…" She stepped forward, and noticed the pictures on his desk. She sighed.

"Audrey, it appears that you are having a close relationship with several of our students, and maybe even worse…" He cleared his throat.

Audrey shook her head, "Sir, that's why I asked for my leave." She retorted. "I've become close with my students on a more friendly level than on a teacher-student relationship." Audrey tilted her head to the side. "I wanted to take myself out of the situation before it got worse,"

Provost Higgins' lips pulled tight over his teeth, "These photographs are questionable Miss Nolan,"

"I know sir, but they were strictly innocent," She pointed to the one of her and Pogue heading upstairs together. "You can check our records, Pogue lives across the hall from me; he needed a ride to school and home because of the snow,"

The Provost nodded and discarded the pictures of Pogue in the trashcan; he turned over the picture of her talking closely with Caleb in her classroom. She shook her head and immediately told him about Caleb asking for help about Sarah's birthday present.

She filtered through the rest of the pictures until it came to a picture of Reid and Audrey, sitting at a Starbucks together, chatting animatedly. She sighed and took the picture in her hands.

"That was a big mistake," She shook her head. "Mr. Garwin wanted to talk to me about Stephen King, he's one of my favorite authors, and we just met up for coffee, it was no big deal…"

The Provost casted the stack of pictures away and looked up at Audrey. Her eyes told him that she had been telling the truth about the pictures. Her stories didn't falter and she was up front about everything, she had no reason to lie to him.

"Provost, there is something that I need to tell you," She said softly glancing back at the door. The man looked up at her, running a hand through his thinning white hair.

"Audrey, I've had quite a morning,"

"I know sir, and this will not make it better… but it needs to be said…"

The Provost simply nodded his head; he sat back in his chair lacing his fingers on the desk in front of him. He had no idea what to expect from Audrey, first she resigns, and then she's accused of cavorting around with her students.

She took a seat in front of him and sighed, not really sure how to say what she needed to.

"It's about Elliot DeRosa,"

"Ok,"

The aged man narrowed his eyes at the young girl, wondering what she had to say about one of his most educated teachers. In his eyes, Elliot DeRosa could do no wrong.

Before she could chicken out she let the words slip from her mouth, "He's not the man that you think he is,"

"I have seen nothing to make me question Elliot's character, Miss Nolan… what do you base this accusation on?"

"Provost, Elliot DeRosa, is not Elliot DeRosa…" She wiped her hands nervously on the pant leg of her pants. "He's really Jacob Stone, my stepbrother…"

"Your stepbrother?"

"Yes sir, I didn't realize it until I started getting these flowers sent to my class, and weird notes," She sighed the words rushing out of her mouth before she could think twice about them. "He started harassing me, and I think he's been stalking me…"

"Miss Nolan," Provost Higgins stood up and shook his head. "Why would you accuse a man, such as Mr. DeRosa, of doing such things?" He asked hastily. "Spenser Academy does extensive background checks on all of the employees; we never found as much as an indiscretion on Mr. DeRosa's records…"

"He's a con-man, Provost…" She pressed standing up. "He's been laying low here as a teacher so that he could get back at me for putting his father in jail…"

"You have quite the imagination, Miss Nolan, perhaps you should take your leave early…" Provost Higgins stated staring her down.

"You don't believe me?" Audrey asked shocked.

How could he not believe her? How could he believe that Jacob Stone was actually Elliot DeRosa? How could this man playoff this act so well?

He had conned everyone in to believing his pathetic stories. She was starting to think that she was going crazy. Was Elliot really Jacob? Or had Reid made that all up?

No, she shook her head. Reid had no reason to make this all up. She stood firmly on her belief, those eyes were too familiar not to belong to Jacob Stone. The Provost shook his head and looked at Audrey.

"Jacob Stone was burned to death eight years ago, Audrey… I remember you then, don't think I don't. You were traumatized." He shook his head. "I will pay you for the rest of the week, just gather your things and head home."

Audrey stared at him, tears brimmed her eyes as she shook her head. How could Jacob be like his father? Why was he back now pretending to be this man, pretending to be something he wasn't just to get back at her?

They had been close. When their parents were married Jacob was someone that she felt she could turn to, but apparently she had been wrong. She had been so devastated when she learned about the fire. She couldn't go to school for weeks because of the trauma that it had caused her.

She simply nodded her head and walked out of the office, walking past both Reid and Elliot. Reid glared at Elliot before staring up at the Provost who waved him in. Reid mumbled under his breath and decided that he had to kick things up a notch if he was going to get Audrey off the hook and put Elliot in jail.

* * *

**I thought I selected this, but I guess it didn't. Stupid .**


	20. The Truth

**A/N: **Long chapter, but it didn't want to end... it just didn't. There is a LOT that goes on in this chapter. A lot that comes out, and well... you'll just have to read to find out. -- Also I think this may go a few more chapters, we'll see.

And I'm sorry grey there is now Audrey/Reid love in this one yet, but I'll make up for it next chapter, promise... :)

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Audrey ran up to her apartment, bursting through the door. She discarded her things to the side and slammed the door shut behind her. She immediately locked the door and pressed her entire body against it.

Her breathing was hard and ragged, but she didn't care. She had sped the entire way home and didn't look back once. She couldn't do this. The idea that the man that she had once felt so strongly for, the man she grieved over for years, was back and with a vengeance—made her entire body shake.

She needed someone. She needed her sister.

She shakily grabbed the phone and dialed her sister's number, tears were falling freely from her eyes, but she didn't care. She just wanted to talk to Marley; she needed to talk to her. After the second ring, the line picked up.

"Audrey? Aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Marls, I need you…" She whispered in to the phone, fighting back the new round of tears.

"Aud, what's wrong?"

"Just please come, please…"

Audrey didn't give her much else to work with. She hung up the phone curling herself in to a ball on her couch. Jacob was back, he wasn't dead. She wondered why he had waited eight years to come back and make his presence known. Why had he waited so long to make her life miserable? She had done so much to make her life right again, and just when it was getting back on course, he had to derail it yet again.

She remembered the day his father was arrested, she remembered him pleading with her not to say anything in her room. The way he had cupped her face in his hands and begged her not to say anything. She had only been sixteen at the time and he was just shy of twenty. He had told her things that she had wanted to hear at that age and she fell for them—for him.

She angrily beat the pillow in her lap, mad at herself for letting herself fall for him all those years ago; for mourning his death for two years. She hadn't let anyone get close to her then; she had pushed herself in to her academics to get away. Then she snuck away to college, disappeared for several years, and when she finally came back home it all blew back up in her face.

"I hate you," She whispered harshly to no one in particular.

She had danced with depression after his death, and for years no one really knew why. She had never told anyone the real relationship between her and Jacob Stone, until after he had passed away, after the depression had filtered and the smoke had cleared.

Even then the only person who she told was Marley, and that's why she needed her. That's why she needed her sister now. She had felt so cheated all those years ago, and now, now she felt like she had been cheated worse than before. She had been conned.

"Bastard," She managed to yell out in to the silence of her apartment.

She sat by herself, the tears falling, reminiscing about the years before when everything seemed ok. It wasn't weird to her to fall for Jacob Stone, because he wasn't her brother, and he was hardly ever around.

He wasn't her stepbrother; not then.

She pushed the thoughts away and curled deeper in to the couch. She didn't move again until the knocking at the door pulled her out of her intense thoughts. The dark haired woman pulled herself off of the couch and crossed to the front door. She peered through the peep-hole and was relieved to see her sister on the other side.

She unlocked and opened the door, immediately flinging herself in to Marley's arms. The older woman let out a sharp breath and hugged her sister, wondering what the problem was.

"It's a long story, but I'll tell it from beginning to end, if you want?" Audrey offered.

Marley simply nodded her head closing the door behind her. The two sisters sat down together, reveling in the silence around them. Audrey took a deep breath before she started telling her sister everything; from the dates, to Reid, to the flowers, to the stalking, to the harassment, and finally to the finale that lasted two days.

"Wait a second, so this Elliot guy is really…" Marley trailed off in shock.

"Yeah," Audrey's face was pinched together in apprehension. She didn't know exactly how her sister was going to react, or if she was going to freak out because she had quit her job to be with Reid, or what.

"Jesus Christ, Audrey…" Marley stood up sharply. The younger sister closed her eyes tightly, ready for a motherly scolding. "We've got to call the police!"

"What?" Audrey stared at her sister.

"We've got to call the police and tell them about Jacob," She pointed out.

"You believe me?"

Marley's face contorted in to a confused expression, "Of course I believe you, were you lying?"

Audrey gasped, "No of course not, but Provost Higgins didn't believe me… he just told me that Jacob died eight years ago,"

"We all thought Jacob was dead," She shook her head.

Audrey rested her head on her sister's chest, she didn't want to think anymore; she really wished that this was all some terrible nightmare. Marley wrapped her arms around her sister, holding on to her as tightly as she possibly could.

"We have to do something about this, Aud…" Marley whispered to her.

"I know, but I don't know what to do…" She sighed heavily. "I mean if I go to the police they're going to think I'm insane because Jacob is _dead_." She used air quotes to make her point.

"Tell them what you told me, minus the points about your relationship with Reid, or that you got your information from him… and that he got it somehow illegally…"

"Just an assumption?" Audrey's forehead creased. "They'll really think I'm made then…"

Marley sighed, "Tell him some guy at work was harassing you, and he's stalking you… taking pictures of you etcetera, and that you think that he might be Jacob Stone…"

Audrey sighed, "I want to talk to Reid about this too, though… see what he thinks…"

"If you wait to long he might come after you… he might try and hurt you Audrey…"

Audrey shook her head, "Jacob just wants revenge for his dad, he doesn't want to kill me or anything,"

"How can you be so sure about that?"

Audrey stopped and sighed, "I don't."

"Exactly!"

Marley was able to calm her down and left her after Audrey assured her that she was O.K. for the hundredth time. The older sister complex had kicked in and Marley made sure to remind her to call her if she needed anything, no matter what time it was.

Audrey let herself fall asleep on the couch, the doors locked, and checked three times before she even sat down. Her sister had left twenty minutes ago and she was resting easy. Her eyes were heavy from crying and being absolutely belligerent and she welcomed sleep.

It always made her feel better.

She had been dreaming, flashes of her past were shown in her mind's eyes and it frightened her. Audrey tossed violently trying to rid the memories, she could hear noises, but she wasn't sure if she was dreaming it or if it was really going on.

The noise quieted down, but she felt uneasy. She needed to wake up, she had to. She forced herself to pull away from the memories. Though some were fond, others were not. She wanted to run away from the ones that weren't.

"Audrey," Someone whispered her name.

Had her sister come back? Had Marley turned around and decided to stick around? Or was it Reid? Was he back from school? Did he come straight to her apartment to check on her to see how she was doing?

Had she been asleep for that long?

She forced her eyes open and let out a murderous scream. She clutched her chest, her legs kicking frantically to scoot her body away. She stared at the person in front of her eyes wide in horror and shock.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" She asked barely able to managing to spit the words out.

"I came to see you _sugar_…" He grinned at her wickedly.

Her nose stung, tears welling in her eyes. The contents of her stomach started to bubble, causing her to feel nauseous. Her entire body was tensing up. She didn't like feeling like this, not at all.

"Elliot…." She murmured his name, or at least his fake name.

He sucked his teeth at her, shaking his head as he leaned forward on her couch, his body hovered over hers, "Sugar, you know the real me…"

Audrey swallowed hard, pressing her eyes closed together and shaking her head violently. She prayed that she was still dreaming, that she would wake up and Reid would be there to hold her and comfort her after this incredible horrifying nightmare.

He leaned in closer the tip of his nose grazing her cheek as he let his hands move up her body. She stiffened under his touch and opened her eyes, his face was there still. She wasn't dreaming.

"Jacob, why?" A sob choked her words up and he smiled at her, leaving a feather-like kiss on her jaw line.

"You said you loved me," Jacob's words were sharp, and cut her deep.

"You said the same thing," The tears fell freely now. "You lied to me Jake, you lied to everyone…" Her teeth clenched angrily. She wasn't so much scared anymore, she was infuriated. "You faked dying for what?" She asked freeing her hands and beating them angrily against his chest.

"My father,"

"Your father was an asshole, Jake…" Audrey mumbled angrily, wishing that she could have the old Jacob back. The one that she loved more than eight years ago. "He hurt people, and he stole from them, he wasn't a man… he was a coward…"

She regretted the words that flew out of her mouth, because they only angered him. He pulled back one of his hands and slapped her hard across the face. She saw a flash of regret in his brown eyes as soon as he realized what he had just done.

He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her cheek. She squirmed viciously under his grasp; he held her down with his free hand and stared down at her.

"Don't make me angry, Audrey…" He pursed his lips together. "It hurts me to have to hurt you…"

"Then don't do it… just walk away now, Jake…"

"It's far too late for walking away now, Audrey… I'm in too deep." A malicious grin spread across his face. "It's too late for you,"

"No," She shook her head tried to fight him off.

"I told you not to say a word, Audrey! I told you!" Jacob held her arms down tightly at her sides. "You told me that you loved me, you said you would do anything for me, Audrey, anything!"

"Anything but that," She shook her head. "He was hurting her, and he was going to hurt us…"

"That's a lie…" Jacob screamed at her roughly pushing her deeper in to the cushions, his knee between her legs, his strong arms holding her down. "My father wouldn't hurt anyone he didn't have to…"

"We were in the way, and he wasn't going to stand for it. Jacob. I overheard him talking to mom…" His eyes softened. "He wanted my father's money, that's all he wanted when he met her… that's it!"

"No, he loved Geneva!"

"He didn't!"

Jacob's chin jutted violently towards her and he locked eyes on her.

"He didn't love her Jacob, not like that." She whispered the tears beginning to settle. "He didn't love her like you loved me,"

"No one will ever love you like I loved you,"

Audrey shook her head and sighed, "Someone found a way to love me more," Her voice was sad, and Jacob's hold on her arms let up just a bit.

"Garwin? That imbecile?" Jacob scoffed shaking his head. "He doesn't love you, Audrey,"

Audrey felt her heart pound faster, "He may not now, but I feel like he could love me more than you did, one day…"

His jaw clenched tightly and he pulled her up to a sitting position. He was livid and she could tell, she didn't want to make him more pissed off than he was, so she had to play her cards right.

"He doesn't deserve you," Jacob hissed violently. "I won't let him have you."

The dark haired woman swallowed hard, petrified as to what Jacob would do to her. She didn't think that he would hurt her, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Jacob, please…"

"I told him about us," Jacob grinned wickedly at her. "I told him everything he wanted to hear, and more."

Audrey stared at him in complete disbelief. "You didn't…"

"I did," Jacob got up and started pacing in front of her. "I told him about the first time that I showed interest in you… he was a bit repulsed by that," Jacob snickered. "But like I need his fucking approval," He moved forward with two large steps and kneeled in front of her, his hands gripping her thighs. "I told him about the two years that we were together, you and me sugar…"

"God, no…" She shook her head.

She didn't want Reid to know about Jacob. She didn't want him to know that she had been absolutely devoted to him for two years of her life. The age difference between them didn't matter to her, and it hadn't mattered to him. They were so sure at the time that they belonged together, but now, Audrey knew that it wasn't true.

"Oh yes, baby…" Jacob rubbed his hands in to her thighs, massaging them gently. "I told him that I was the man that made every one of your dreams come true and that you were just using him until I came back in to your life…"

"He didn't believe you." Audrey stated firmly.

"He didn't?" Jacob asked, his head cocked to the side. He leaned in a little closer, a sadistic smile on his face. "Oh he did baby, he believed every word I said… and then he punched me…" He grinned. "Kid's got a helluva right hook…"

"No,"

"Oh yes babe… he was suspended," Jacob licked his lips leaning in just that much closer to her. "So if he didn't believe me, where the hell is he? Shouldn't he be here talking to his girlfriend, comforting her, saving her from the big bad dead stepbrother?"

"Have you gone absolutely mad?" She questioned him.

"Probably," He nodded his head. "I've waited for this day for eight years, Audrey… eight long years…"

"Why?"

"Why did I wait eight years?" Audrey nodded, "Do you realize that you were pretty hard to track down after you graduated from Spenser? You fluttered around for awhile, I decided that you'd come back home eventually." He leaned in closer to her, his lips just about to touch hers, "I knew you'd come back home, and that we could be together forever…"

Audrey turned her cheek and stared at the front door, she willed it to open; prayed to God that there was someone on their way to come save her. She hoped that someone would help her and get this psychotic freak out of her house and out of her life for good.

She closed her eyes and pushed away the thoughts of Jacob, and his hands traveling in places that they shouldn't. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare; she wanted everything to be ok again.

"Audrey!" The loud bang of someone hitting the door caught her attention.

Her brown eyes snapped open and she stared at the door. There was a chair barricading it from whoever was on the other side.

"Reid!" She shouted his name and Jacob groaned resting his forehead on her chest.

"That fucking prick," He muttered.

"Audrey, don't move… I'll be in, in a second…" Reid shouted another loud thud and Audrey closed her eyes, praying to God that Jacob didn't do anything instinctively.

She opened her eyes again and her front door flew off the hinges, the chair flying back and cracking viciously in to the wall. She stared at the blonde standing in the doorway and nearly screamed, for joy or terror, she wasn't quite sure.

There was something different about the blonde that stood there ready to pounce on the older man. It all happened so quickly that she didn't know what to do. Reid had come in to the room at a lightening speed, grabbed Jacob by the neck and literally flung him across the room.

That was when Audrey got a good look at his face; his normally cerulean blue eyes were pitch black; frighteningly and unnaturally black.

Audrey wanted to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth when Jacob charged at Reid. The blonde took his eyes off of her and was able to stop Jacob in a second. Audrey was shocked to see that Jacob didn't seem phased by the fact that Reid Garwin was freakishly strong, and that his eyes were the color of charcoal.

Her mouth hung open in shock as she watched Reid slam Jacob back in to the wall, not even touching him. She was scared now, though she wasn't really sure why, she knew deep down that Reid wouldn't hurt her, no matter what the hell was going on now.

"Reid, stop…" She found her voice.

The blonde turned to look at her, the black engulfed in red flames and his eyes were back to normal. She swallowed hard, fumbling off of the couch. Audrey stabled herself on her own two feet and looked at Jacob who was wincing in pain sitting against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Audrey stared at him in a state of shock.

"Four, three, two…one…" Reid counted down silently to himself. He held up a finger and pulled out his cell phone that was ringing violently. "_'e_llo?" He held the phone away from his ear and walked over to Jacob, making sure that he wasn't going to get up. "Caleb, would you get off of your high horse for once, please?" Reid mumbled glancing over his shoulder at his girlfriend. "Look, you use when it suits you to save Sarah, and Pogue to save Kate… right?" He asked squatting down. "Well I used to save_ my_ girlfriend, so back the fuck off…"

He snapped his phone shut and grabbed Jacob around the throat. Audrey watched as he gasped for air, clawing his hands at Reid's body, but that didn't faze the blonde at all, he stared the older man deep in the eye.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you…" Reid stated harshly to the brunette man. "So I'll give you two options, Jacob Stone." He tilted his head to the side. "You can either; leave now and never look back, ever…" He arched an eyebrow. "And trust me I'll know." Jacob stared at him coughing violently through Reid's hold. "Or I can call the police and have them arrest you for breaking and entering my girlfriend's house, and then they'll found out who you really are and all the bullshit that you've done…"

Audrey watched Reid work his magic, still not sure what to make of his black eyes. Within seconds Jacob was stumbling out of the front door, ready to hit the road. He stopped for a long moment, and stared at Audrey.

She held his steady gaze and he disappeared. Reid looked around the apartment and sighed, he knew he was going to have to explain this to Audrey whether he wanted to or not.

Before he had to start explaining he held up a hand and his eyes fell black again. Audrey gasped and watched as every piece of furniture or wall that was out of place was put back together in an instant.

She was staring at him in complete shock; Reid grabbed her hand and sat her back down on the couch, "I think we need to talk…"

Audrey stared at him, this time no so afraid of those four little words.

* * *

**Anyway, I thought about a sequel, but I'm so terrible at finishing them so I don't think that's going to work. I might do a series of one-shots for Audrey/Reid just because I love them so much, but we'll see. I just hope you guys enjoy it! :)**


	21. Just Reid and Audrey

**A/N: **I'm thinking maybe one ore two more chapters, we'll see.

* * *

**Chapter 21**

"So you're a witch?" Audrey stared at the blonde in front of her, her eyes wide trying to absorb the information he had just given her. Her mind racing with a million questions, "Or a warlock, or whatever?"

"Yeah," Reid nodded his head, holding her close to his chest.

"Like Harry Potter?" She asked and felt Reid shift under her body.

"Better than Harry Potter," He snickered. "We don't need wands,"

"Oh," She pursed her lips together. "Ok, I think I can deal with this,"

"Yeah?" He asked her.

"It's a lot to swallow, but I think I can manage."

She could feel him smile behind her, and his arms tightened around her waist, "Are you ok?"

She felt a shiver run down her spine and prayed that Jacob Stone would leave her alone from now on. She swallowed hard, wrapping her arms around her body trying to comfort herself.

"No," She said lowly.

And it was true. The first guy that she ever thought she loved had come back to seek revenge against her, had nearly caused her the job of her dreams, and her new relationship. And on top of that she finds out that her boyfriend has supernatural powers.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. She could feel his body tense.

"Not right now," She whispered turning in his embrace to look at him. "I—I really just want to go lay down,"

Reid didn't think twice, he scooped her up in to his arms and lead her back to the bedroom. He set her down on the bed and she didn't bother changing her clothes, she pulled him to her and cuddled close to the warmth of his body.

"I can't believe you got suspended." She muttered against the black t-shirt he was wearing.

"Well, I don't take kindly to idiots talking about my girlfriend," He mumbled letting his fingers run through her tangled dark brown hair.

She didn't say anything else; she spooned her body to his and drifted off in to a sober slumber. IT wasn't a good night's sleep, but it was the rest that she needed.

She woke up the next morning still clinging on to Reid's body. He had somehow managed to strip off his shirt in the middle of the night and she was met with the beautiful pale skin of his torso. She left a soft butterfly kiss on his ribcage, not bothering to move her lips when she was done.

"Awake?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Mmmhmmm," She mumbled against his skin.

He felt the flutter of her lips against his bare skin and squirmed a little bit, she craned her neck slightly to get a better look at his handsome face. He leaned forward and kissed her softly. She didn't remove her lips from his, she enjoyed the simplicity of it, and the way that he made her feel from the tip of her toes to the top of her head.

"Feeling any better this morning?" He asked.

"Yeah," She mumbled against his lips. She didn't want to pull away in fear that he would leave.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" He asked.

"Do you have something you want to ask me directly?" She questioned concerned.

"Honestly?" Audrey stared at him, and he nodded his head. "I know it's really known of my business, but I just wanted to know… the things he said… to me at school, were they true?"

Audrey knew that this was going to happen, sooner or later she would have to tell Reid everything about her and Jacob and their relationship. She sighed and looped her arms around his waist.

"It is your business," She explained. "You're my boyfriend and you have every right to know, especially since you got suspended for hitting him over it,"

"It's true then?"

"I don't know what he told you, but I'll tell you everything," Audrey licked her lips. "If you want to know,"

"I only want to know if you want me to," He responded.

Audrey nodded her head and took a few deep breathes, holding on to his naked torso. She figured her best bet was to start from the beginning and to work from there. She would have to explain everything and hope that he wouldn't judge her because of her past.

"Well, I told you before that my father died when I was four, right?" She asked carefully.

"Yes," Reid nodded.

"My mother met Felix after a few failed relationships. I was twelve at the time, and Jacob was sixteen. He seemed really cool you know, he was around the same age as Marley and Jamie so I didn't mind having another older 'sibling'…" Audrey trailed her fingers over Reid's abdomen making his muscles flex under her touch. "We all moved in together when I was thirteen, and he had just turned seventeen. He always looked at me differently than he did Marley or Jamie," Audrey rubbed her dry lips together not sure really how to explain the way he looked at her back then. "It was like I could almost tell that he liked me, but I wasn't sure because he was just so much older than me."

"Your parents didn't think anything of it?"

"My mother was so blinded by Felix that she wouldn't have noticed if I had sprouted another leg," Audrey lifted a shoulder. "I guess I can't blame her, the Stones were mesmerizing creatures." Reid rested his chin on the top of her head and listened as she continued her story. "He started walking around without a shirt on, sometimes just a towel, saying that he'd forgotten his change of clothes for the shower that all of us kids shared, I didn't mind I was just coming in to myself about to go to High School and I was pretty boy crazy…"

She waited for a reaction from Reid, but didn't get one. He just laid there holding her close to his chest, his breathing even and not showing any signs of judging her.

"At fourteen, that was the first time that he showed actual interest in me. Our parents were away on vacation and Jamie was out of the house already at college, and Marley was in her senior year of High School." The dark haired woman pursed her lips together thoughtfully. "I was on the soccer team at Spenser and we had conditioning after school before the season started, so I'd usually come home in my shorts and sports bra, I had never seen any harm in it before," She lifted a shoulder.

"That was the first time that he actually kissed me,"

He reacted to that, his entire body stiffened at the sound of her confessions.

"I was fifteen when he told me that he loved me," Audrey was fighting the tears now; she hated these memories, more so now than she had ever before. "And a few months after that we… y'know…" She lolled her head a bit not wanting to say it. It felt a little less dirty when she didn't say it out loud.

"Fifteen?" Reid repeated. "So he was nineteen?"

Audrey nodded her head and Reid's grip on her tightened a little bit. She was scared of what Reid would think of her, no one else's opinion really mattered to her, except his.

"Is that why you were so stubborn with me before?" He asked letting his fingers caress the bare skin of her arms.

"I think that definitely might have been part of it," She nodded. She grabbed his hand. "But I don't want you to think that Jacob was wrong for what we had," She paused. "It's hard to explain really, I mean I loved him, god did I… he was my whole world for those two years… and he was all that seemed to matter, no matter the age difference,"

"You don't want me to think he was a sicko?" Reid asked.

"No, I wanted it. It wasn't against my will…" Audrey shook her head. "The bad stuff happened afterward. The Jacob that was here, yesterday, trying to hurt me or scare me or whatever… that wasn't the same Jacob that I knew eight years ago, that was a traumatized, cynical psycho…" She bit down on her lip. "I'm not making any sense am I?"

"You're making perfect sense," Reid assured her. "So tell me what happened after all of that…"

The woman he held took a few more deep breaths before she decided to finish her story, "I found out about his dad. He was only with my mom to get her money, I found out by listening in on phone calls, and doing some stuff on line that he was a con-man, and he had been married under different names before." Her lips quivered holding on to Reid like he was going to disappear. "So I called the cops on him after I heard him make a threat to my mother. I didn't know what else to do. I told them everything I had heard, and they were going to come and arrest him."

She couldn't hold the tears in any longer, they started to shed freely from her eyes. Reid sat up and pulled her with him. He rested her cheek against his shoulder and smoothed out her messy hair. He didn't want her to continue if it was going to hurt too much.

"You don't have to say anymore."

"I can finish," She sniffled, rubbing her forearm over her cheeks. "When the cops came to arrest him, they were questioning everyone. Jacob pulled me in to my room and he told me I couldn't say anything, that if I loved him that I wouldn't say anything. But I couldn't make that promise. I couldn't keep my mouth closed because Felix would have hurt us, all of us."

"So what happened?"

"I testified against him, and Jacob was so angry with me… he didn't talk to me for weeks. He told me that I would regret doing this to him, regret doing this to his father." She rubbed her lips together. "Six months after I testified, they said they found Jacob's body in a burned down apartment,"

"Oh God," Reid held her tighter, if that was even possible.

"I found out at school, and I wasn't the same after that…" She forced a smile. "No one knew about our relationship, and everyone thought I was taking it too hard because Jacob and I were close in everyone's eyes, but they didn't realize how close."

"Audrey, I'm so sorry," He whispered against her hair.

She smiled at him and shook her head, "Its ok," She nodded. "After eight years I had finally come to terms with it. I had graduated from High School and College and I thought I could start all over again." The laugh that escaped her lips was bitter. "I come back home and my entire life was flipped upside down."

"There's at least a bright, handsome side to it all…" He grinned down placing his lips against the side of her face.

Audrey smile, a real smile and elbowed him, "A very handsome side to it…" She agreed with him. "I'm so glad that I have you… and I'm sorry for dragging you in to all this,"

"I was a willing participant…" Reid stated.

Audrey smiled and spooned in to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She loved the feel of him against her body and felt at complete ease.

"Hungry?"

She sniffled again and nodded, "Food sounds really good right now,"

Reid grinned wickedly at her and she looked up at him expecting for him to get out of the bed and get her some breakfast. Instead, she was looking up in to a pair of charcoal black eyes and a tray of food appeared in front of them.

She let out a high gasp and smacked his naked chest. Reid gasped and his eyes fell back to their normal cerulean blue color, he gave her a questioning look.

"You said that if you use it's bad, that you'll become addicted, don't use." She grabbed the tray and pulled it towards them. "I'll let it slide, but I don't think Caleb will…" She mused.

Reid raised an eyebrow and she pointed to his buzzing phone on her nightstand. Reid smirked and grabbed the phone, pressing the ignore button, he wasn't going to deal with Caleb's shit just yet. That could wait until later.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed, R&R!**


	22. What is love?

**A/N: **I'm looking at one more chapter, so enjoy why it lasts! Thank you guys for the cont'd support on this story, I really appreciate it!

* * *

**Chapter 22**

Pale, strong arms wrapped around her middle, and Audrey had never felt safer. His chin rested on her shoulder leaving a kiss on the edge of her jaw. Her hands occupied themselves with the vegetables in front of her.

"What are you doing?" He questioned.

"What's it look like?" She inquired back her eyebrow raised with a smirk on her lips. He was beginning to rub off on her.

"I see that you're cutting up vegetables, but why?"

"I'm making dinner," She mused going back to the task at hand.

"Why?"

"Because I'm hungry, and if I'm hungry I'm sure you're hungry."

"Why don't we go out?" He questioned.

"Go out?" Her voice was low, it had been only two days since the incident with Jacob and she was still a little shaken up over the entire ordeal.

"Yeah, you know most couples do that," He smirked against her tanned skin.

"Where would we go?"

"Nicky's?"

"Reid, we can't go to Nicky's together…" She hurriedly stated.

Reid's hands slid down her arms, he took hold of her hands and made her drop the knife in her grasp before turning her around to face him. He was leaning down, his blonde hair hanging in his face, his lips curled in to that usual smirk.

"If you've forgotten you are no longer a staff member at Spenser Academy, Miss Nolan…" His voice was soft and caused chills to move down her spine.

Audrey stared at him, he was right, nothing was holding them back anymore from being together out in public. Spenser Academy could do nothing to her or to Reid if they were seen together. She smiled and looped her arms around his waist pulling him closer.

"Nicky's it is then?" He asked.

"Sure, let me clean up…" She mused kissing him quickly before she turned back to her vegetables and grabbed a couple of tupperware bowls.

Reid grinned and headed back in to her room; he had spent the last few nights there and had Tyler drop off some of his things. Tyler being the great best friend he was also brought him his homework, which Reid shoved off to the side, refusing to do.

"When we get back tonight, you have to finish your homework, you go back to school on Monday," She called after his retreating figure.

Reid smirked and waved his hand at her, he didn't want to think about school right now. He changed his clothes and when he came back out she was cleaning off the counters, he rolled his blue eyes and pulled her out of the kitchen.

"We're never going to make it there if you don't hurry up," He smirked pushing her in to her room.

"Don't be so pushy, Reid Garwin," She sighed heading in to her closet.

He sat on her bed and watched her pick out her outfit for the night and change quickly, not daring to turn around to face him. She was just getting used to him being around her all the time and she didn't mind, but she had always been shy about her body.

"Come on babe," He grinned at her grabbing her coat and slipping it over her shoulders.

Audrey shook her head, lacing her arms through the holes in the jacket and grabbing her purse. Reid snatched up the keys to her car and locked the door behind them. The couple climbed in to the dark haired woman's car and drove to the local Ipswich hot spot.

Reid glanced over at Audrey; he had opted to drive, because he wasn't sure if Audrey was still a hundred percent comfortable with them going out in public as a couple. He knew that it would probably be weird to her at first, but she would get used to it the more they did it.

"You ok?" He asked carefully.

"Yeah, I'm good…" She responded after a short pause.

He parked the car next to Tyler's black Hummer and she sat there for a few seconds. Reid pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned his body so that he could look at her completely. She was staring out of the front window; the blonde couldn't identify the look on her face. She was shielding emotions from him.

"If you don't want to go in, we don't have to," He stated breaking the silence.

Audrey looked up at him startled; a blush crept over her cheeks, "I'm sorry…" She whispered. "I just don't know how everyone will react…"

Reid smirked, "You shouldn't worry about other people Aud… all that matters is you and me."

Audrey stared at him, his blue eyes seemed lighter than normal and she couldn't help but reach out and touch his cheek with her hand. She loved the feeling of his smooth skin against her finger-tips. She felt a small smile tug at her lips and she leaned in to kiss him.

"You're right," She rested her forehead against his. "Screw what they think,"

Reid brushed the back of his hand against her cheek and pressed their lips together again, "Say it again…" He mused closing his eyes.

"Screw what they think?" Audrey asked carefully not sure what he was talking about.

"No, no… the first part…" He shook his head, his forehead still pressed to hers.

"You're right?"

Reid smiled and nodded, "Yep, I like the sound of that…"

She laughed shoving his shoulder back and sitting in her seat, "You're terrible,"

"I never claimed to be good," He grinned at her.

"Oh you're on a roll tonight, mister…"

"You ready to go in?" He proposed.

"Yeah," She nodded her head.

Reid grinned pushing his door open and straightening out his faded blue jeans and black hoodie. He came around to her side and helped her out of the car. She leaned forward and kissed him abruptly, pushing him back in to Tyler's SUV. Reid instinctively gripped her hips in his large hands and pulled her closer to him.

"Or we can stay out here," He mumbled against her lips.

Smiling Audrey pulled back; she gave him a chaste kiss. Reid pulled her under his arm and headed toward the bar, not giving a second thought that he was about to walk in to Spenser's hottest hangout with an ex-teacher under his arm.

When they walked in the place didn't stop like it would have if they were in some teen-drama, instead most everyone totally ignored them except for a few people that new Reid from local parties. He lifted his hand in acknowledgement letting his arm fall from around Audrey's shoulders, but reclaimed her hand in his, weaving her through the traffic of Nicky's.

"Reid, you made it!" Tyler's voice brought him out of his stupor. A grin spread across Reid's face as he pulled Audrey next to him. Tyler's mouth fell open just a little bit, "Miss Nolan…"

"Tyler," Audrey looked at him. "I'm not your teacher anymore, just call me Audrey…"

Tyler blushed and the girl next to him stared at the dark haired girl. Claire, Tyler's girlfriend, hadn't known that Audrey was a teacher when they first met, so it didn't really surprise Audrey that she got that kind of reaction from her.

"Claire, it's good to see you again," Audrey stated taking a seat next to Reid.

"You're a teacher at Spenser?"

"Was," She corrected.

"Wow," Claire closed her mouth and slugged Tyler in the arm. "How come you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important," Tyler groaned rubbing his arm. "Thanks Reid,"

"Why the hell do I get blamed for something I had nothing to do with?" Reid asked laughing at Tyler's expense, Claire was giving him a glare and Reid's hand flew up. "I'm just saying,"

"It would have been a little awkward don't you think?" Audrey stated shrugging. "I'm not their teacher anymore, so…"

Claire shook her head, "I don't think it's weird… it's kinda cute actually…" She leaned forward. "Have you ever dated a student before?"

Audrey blushed and shook her head, "No, Reid is the first…"

"And only," The blonde added.

Claire and Audrey fell in to a conversation as Reid and Tyler left them to play a round of pool. Audrey glanced around not seeing the eldest two members of Reid's group. She decided to bring her question out to Claire who glanced around.

"They're supposed to be meeting us here, but Caleb had a Student Council meeting I think… later than normal…" She shrugged.

"Oh," Audrey nodded in response.

Claire took another survey of the room and smiled, "Speak of the devils and they shall come…" She laughed pointing in the direction of the door.

Audrey turned in her seat and noticed Caleb and Pogue coming in the front door, Sarah and Kate in tow. They looked freshly showered and were laughing naturally at each other. Audrey turned back to Claire and resumed their conversation about how she and Tyler met.

"I work at the coffee shop in town, and he came in one day and it was like love at first sight, but so not…" Claire laughed.

Audrey grinned and someone shouted her name, or at least her last name with the infamous 'Miss' in front of it. She looked up and saw Pogue and Caleb with their girlfriends flanking them approach the table.

"Hey guys," She waved. "And it's just Audrey now,"

"Sorry," Caleb gave her a lazy grin. He was hiding something in those chocolate brown eyes, he didn't look as happy as he was pretending to be.

"It's ok," She smiled and glanced at the pretty, younger girl sitting in front of her. "Claire was just telling me about how she met Tyler…"

"Oh, speaking of Tyler… where are those two?" Sarah asked taking a seat next to Audrey.

"Pool tables," Claire hoisted her thumb lazily in the direction that the two boys had disappeared.

"Should have known," Kate muttered slipping out of her jacket.

"We're gonna…" Pogue started to say and Kate dismissed him with a simple wave of her hand.

Caleb leaned down and kissed Sarah before he dragged Pogue over to the foosball tables. Audrey laughed shaking her head, boys and their toys, was the first thought she had seeing them immediately engross themselves in a game.

"How are you doing Audrey?"

The question came from the bubbly blonde that was sitting next to her. She gave her a faint smile and shook her head. She knew that Reid had called Tyler and explained things, and she figured that Tyler gave that information to the other two members of their group. She didn't mind. She just really didn't want to think anything of the subject now.

"Ok," She mumbled, lifting her shoulder at the blonde. "Kind of hard to describe really,"

"I'm so sorry that happened to you," The blonde curled her arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to a tight hug.

Reid had told her everything about their powers, their ascension and what happened the first few weeks of school. He told her how Caleb and Pogue were forced to tell Sarah and Kate about the power, and why. She knew that Sarah and Kate could both sympathize about being in a situation that they never thought that they would ever be in, so she felt a little more comfortable around them than she thought she originally would, being six years their senior.

"It's ok, but thank you," She smiled.

"So, other than that, how are things with Reid?" Kate asked her eyes bright with mischief.

Audrey blushed and glanced at the three girls, she felt like she belonged here. She felt as though she was one of the girls, just hanging out and gossiping about each other's lives, it felt so natural. She tilted her head to the side and stole a glance in Reid's direction.

He was leaning against his pool stick, his blue eyes looking directly at her, a small grin on his face. She winked at him before turning back to the girls and telling them everything they could possibly want to hear.

Tyler finished his shot and looked up to see what his best friend was doing, usually he would be pestering the younger boy to make his shot so that he could get his turn, but he wasn't. The blonde Son of Ipswich was staring off in the direction where the girlfriends were all talking animatedly together.

The brunette grinned and nudged his best friend roughly, nearly knocking the lean blonde over. Reid's head whipped in his direction, not fully aware of what was going on. Tyler gave him a knowing grin and Reid socked him in the shoulder.

"Your turn lover boy," He murmured his voice low.

Reid shrugged his shoulders and angled himself so that he could take his shot, though his eyes were anywhere but on the green ball that he was supposed to hit in to the corner pocket. His blue eyes were still staring in her direction.

"Well, well, well…" An all too familiar voice interrupted his gaze as he stood erect to peer in to the dark blue eyes of Aaron Abbot.

"What the hell do you want, Aaron?"

"Oh nothing, just came over here to see how you were holding up. I know you like to pretend to be a bad ass and all, but getting suspended? What'd you do Garwin, fuck Higgins' granddaughter?" The curly haired boy grinned wickedly.

"No," Reid retorted flatly, his lips pulling tight over his white teeth. Aaron gave him a look that told him to continue, he was interested in knowing how the boy got suspended for a week. "I punched DeRosa in the face,"

Aaron's eyes showed that he didn't believe the blonde, but he wanted to continue antagonizing him. His lips twisted in to a smirk.

"Was he fuckin' your favorite teacher?" Aaron badgered him.

Reid wasn't going to let the prick bother him. He lifted his chin to Aaron motioning in the direction where Audrey sat with Claire, Kate and Sarah. Aaron glanced over his shoulder and smirked. The smirk slowly slipped from his face when he noticed who the gorgeous brunette sitting next to Caleb Danvers' girlfriend was.

"Miss Nolan?" He asked standing up his shoulders slumped forward. "You've got to be shittin' me…"

"Afraid not," Reid moved around the table and slung his arm around Aaron shoulders. "Trust me I don't have to worry about _Mr. DeRosa_ trying to run his game on my girlfriend anymore, I got him fired."

Aaron didn't know what to say. He stared across the bar at Audrey Nolan who was laughing whole-heartedly at something Kate had said. He glanced at Reid and shook his head, a look crossed his face that Reid couldn't even figure out.

Reid shrugged his shoulders and squeezed Aaron's shoulder.

"You win some and you lose some, Abbott…" He laughed before returning his attention back to the game that was underway.

"It sounds to me like you're in love," Sarah gushed holding on to Audrey's arm.

The four young women had all just finished spilling their guts about their relationships. The girls didn't believe Audrey when she told them that he was romantic, and that he hadn't gotten really good at taking care of her, and saving her ass.

"We've only been dating for a few weeks; it's not that serious, yet…" Audrey pointed out.

"Caleb and Sarah were together for a week before she fell in absolute love with him…" Kate pointed out.

"It's not that simple," Audrey shook her head. "Love is complicated…" She of all people knew that.

Claire looked at her shaking her head, "Love's only complicated if you make it that way…" She pointed out. "It seems to me things with you and Reid are a lot less complicated than that…"

Audrey stared at her for a second, registering what she was saying. How did a seventeen year-old girl know more about love than her? She pursed her lips together, her eyes diverting to the blonde who was laughing with his arm slung over his best friend's shoulders. Maybe they were right. Maybe what they had was less complicated for a reason.

She sighed, the girls were right. Her heart had taken the leap without her knowing it. She knew that what they had was different; she had even told Jacob as much. If what they had wasn't love, or the making of it, maybe she didn't know what love was.

* * *

**R&R! Because it's the right thing to do... ;)**


	23. Tainted Love

**A/N: **I can't believe it. But this is the end. Wow.  
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed Tainted Love, I might revisit it for a serious of One Shots I've been thinking up, but it might be awhile. I will be trying to focus on some other things for a little while, work and school are becoming very hectic, so I apologize for the lack in updates. I will try my best to keep them as timely as possible.

* * *

**Chapter 23**

The rest of the night seemed to go by smoothly, that was until Caleb and Reid got around each other. The tension between the two friends was so thick that you could literally cut it with a knife. Audrey was put off by this and hoped to talk to Caleb, she didn't want him upset with Reid because she found herself in a terrible situation. Reid had only come to her rescue; he was not at fault for this.

As they were leaving, Audrey pulled Caleb aside.

"Caleb, can I talk to you for a second?"

Caleb's brown gaze met Audrey's and he gave her a small smile, "Sure Miss Nol—I mean Audrey…" He blushed at his mistake.

She waved it off and they stepped towards his silver Mustang. She clasped her hands nervously, not really sure how to bring this up with the taller, younger man. Twiddling her thumbs absentmindedly she cleared her throat.

"Um, I just wanted to tell you that what happened the other day," She glanced over at Reid who seemed to be in a much darker mood than he had been earlier. "It wasn't Reid's fault, he was just trying to protect me…" Her eyes met Caleb's and he looked a bit taken back by her words. "So if you want to be mad at someone—it should be me, not Reid. He was only looking out for me, you would do the same for Sarah, right?"

Caleb licked his lips, "It's a little more complicated than that," He looked away slowly to his girlfriend who was sitting in the passenger's seat of his car.

"I know," Audrey nodded, understanding fully what he meant.

"You do?" Caleb raised an eyebrow.

"Yes,"

"I don't think we're on the same page, Audrey… I mean… there are some things people just wouldn't understand." Caleb looked down at his feet, shifting uncomfortably.

Audrey smiled and leaned in towards him, "Trust me when I say that I understand, Caleb…" she gave him a knowing smile and Caleb's jaw set looking down at her.

"You know?" He asked quietly.

Audrey glanced around and gave a simple nod of her head, a serious look on her face, "That's not a problem is it?"

Caleb cleared his throat, "No, no…" He brushed it off. "Look, I've got to take Sarah home… I'll see you later Audrey…"

Audrey was discomforted by Caleb's response to her confession. Was it bad that she knew? It wasn't like she was some complete stranger that Reid told. She knew that it was a secret and that it would have to stay that way. She understood that.

But why was the dark haired boy so irked by her knowledge of their power?

She headed back to her car where Reid was leaning talking to Tyler about something that she couldn't hear. She noticed Claire was already climbing in to the passenger seat. The two young men stopped talking and turned to her with small smiles on their faces.

"Ready to go?" Reid asked her.

"Yep," She nodded her head.

"Great, let's get out of here,"

Audrey didn't argue, and she didn't press about what the two could have possibly been talking about. The ride back to her apartment was quiet, and a little too tense for her liking. When they got home she decided to ask one of her two questions.

"What were you and Ty talking about?" She asked him carefully.

"He's been thinking about telling Claire about _us_…" He retorted without hesitation, Reid could tell that it had been on her mind since they left Nicky's that night.

"Oh really, what'd you tell him?"

"That Caleb'd be pissed, as usual…" Reid rolled his eyes and fell on to the large couch. Audrey sat at the edge of the suede couch, not sure if she should press the subject. Reid could read her face too well these days because he answered her other question without a blink of an eye. "Caleb is complicated, he thinks everything has to have rules and regulations and makes everything more difficult than it is. Like the Covenant. It's a Covenant of Silence, yes but when what we are endangers our loved ones, or if they're in trouble and we have to use to protect them, don't they deserve to know that?"

"I would think so," Audrey nodded her head.

"He's old school. You know, only the wives of the Covenant and children should know what we are." He rolled his eyes. "That's why he's pissed at me,"

"Oh," She pulled her lips together in a thin line. "Well I told him that you told me, in not so many words."

Reid shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not worried about it." The blonde stated pulling her in to his arms. "What's the worst he can do? Erase your memory?"

Audrey gasped, she pulled away from him and stared, "You can do that?"

Reid laughed and pulled her against his chest, "We could, but we wouldn't… it takes too much power to do something like that… it could kill us."

Audrey blinked, "Don't you ever use again… you hear me?" She demanded.

Reid laughed nestling his face in to her hair, "You smell good," He murmured.

"Do not change the subject on me, mister!" She exclaimed playfully swatting at his arms that encircled her waist.

Reid didn't say anything he simply kissed her neck, letting his hands roam further down to the button on her jeans. She felt her entire body shuddered and completely forgot about the conversation at hand.

The next morning loud voices disturbed her slumber. She sat forward in her bed, rubbing the sleep from her brown eyes. She couldn't make the voices out at first, but after the next few lines she grasped exactly who had woken her up at—she glanced at the clock, five in the morning.

Was he out of his mind? She listened closer, apparently he was.

"I can't believe you told her, Reid!" Caleb's vice filled her apartment.

"What exactly was I supposed to say to her, Cale?" Reid groaned. "_'_No honey, you were just seeing things, my eyes weren't black, it must have been trick lighting_'_?"

His voice carried a sort of malice that Audrey hadn't heard from him before. She stayed in her room pretending to be asleep, just incase he decided to come check on her. She kept her breathing low and even so it wouldn't disrupt them.

"You could have found another way to explain it to her." Caleb urged him.

"You get to tell Sarah and Pogue gets to tell Kate but Tyler and I are supposed to lie to _our_ girlfriends?" Reid argued, "That hardly seems fair."

"Pogue and I had no other choice, Reid." Caleb's voice was deep and Audrey could imagine the two of them standing toe to toe invading each other's personal space.

"And I did?" Reid scoffed. "There's no telling what that bastard would have done if I didn't use!"

Audrey visibly cringed, he was right. She had no idea what Jacob had planned of her. There was no telling what he would have done to her if Reid hadn't used his supernatural powers to get in to her apartment. He had used to save her life.

She wanted to go in to that room and tell Caleb that Reid did the right thing, at least in her eyes. But she thought about it and stopped herself. Caleb and Reid had to figure this out on their own. Caleb had to start trusting Reid, and his instincts.

"Caleb there's nothing that could change what I did." Reid sighed and shook his head, he looked up at his friend and met his gaze; the look on his face telling Caleb that he wasn't budging on his decision. "What's done is done."

"You're a pain in my ass," Caleb admitted.

"Look," Reid's voice turned stern. "Audrey is someone I think I'm going to be with for a long time," His voice was low, as if he knew she was awake. "I couldn't stand it if we had any secrets,"

"You really think that?"

"Do you honestly think that I would expose our secret to just _anyone_?"

Audrey felt her heart jump to her throat; she knew it was true without Reid saying the words. Hearing it, though, made it hit home even harder.

"I trust you," Caleb sighed after a few moments of silence between the two of them. "I just didn't expect to have our secret leaked out to three other people within a six month period of us ascending."

"Neither did I, Caleb, but I had no other choice,"

"I know,"

Audrey smiled at the words he spoke, they touched her. She was happy to know that the way she felt wasn't one-sided. That Reid had been feeling everything that she did. She curled deeper in to the comforter of her bed, low whispers were heard but she didn't care to listen now.

"See you at school Monday, right?" Caleb asked a bit of a laugh carrying on in his voice.

"Unless the Provost wants to suspend me again, you never know…" Reid grinned wickedly at his best friend.

"Call me," Caleb announced before Audrey heard the door shut, and then lock.

She heard his footsteps down the hall; she opened one eye and saw him leaning casually against the door frame, a handsome smile on his face. She was busted.

"I knew you were awake," He mused.

There was no point in denying it, she sat up and smiled at him, "How'd you know that? I was extra quiet…" She grinned at him.

"I just know these things," He laughed coming in to the bedroom and sitting on top of the covers. "But you heard everything, huh?"

Audrey grinned at him scooting closer to him; she didn't say anything just gave a simple nod. Reid sighed and fell back on to the bed.

"Tyler and Pogue are going to ride my ass when Caleb is done telling them."

"Telling them what?" Audrey asked maneuvering herself on top of him, straddling his waist.

"That I'm pussy whipped," Reid smirked his hands taking a firm hold on her hips.

A grin spread across Audrey's face and she leaned down to meet his lips in a slow, steady kiss. When she pulled away Reid was gripping her even tighter now.

"There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" She winked at him grabbing his hands and pinning them above his head. She leaned forward her lips barely touching his.

"Hell no," Reid grinned at her wickedly, capturing her lips with his.

Lying in his arms, she felt at home. IT felt so right to her. She knew that leaving Spenser was probably the cowardly thing for her to do. But, it was the right thin to do for herself and for Reid. She found it to difficult to concentrate when she knew the object of her affection was only a few feet away from her at any given time.

The man that she would rather undress than teach was staring at her like he wanted to throw her down on to her desk and do unmentionable things to. Thoughts that shouldn't cross her mind during the words day, did. And it had been too difficult for her to continue like that.

She was content with her decision though. She would be happy with any other job as long as it meant that she could be with Reid the way she wanted to be. It would all work out for them in the end, she knew it would.

She wanted to be able to be with him out in the open, like she was at Nicky's. She didn't want to have to hide what they had. She didn't want what they had to be viewed as wrong or indecent. What they had wasn't tainted, it was just love.

* * *

**Yay, another book ends and a new one will probably begin. I think I might finish up the Covenant stories I have and take a small hiatus from the fandom (though I love it and will more than likely come back). My story ideas aren't coming enough for this fandom, but we'll see how things go! :)**


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